
Class_M^ll 
Book_ 






K2 



OFFICIAL, DONATION. 



William H. Barnes, 

S§crrtiff» 




COPYRIGHT NO. 4929. 



THE BALDWIN CHERRY. 



Tree an upright, vigorous grower, forming a round head; leaves large and broad; 
bloom pure white, changing to pink; fruit large, almost round, very dark transparent 
wine color; flavor slightly acid, yet the sweetest and richest of the Morello type; stems 
rather large, of medium length, and generally in pairs. Unexcelled in earliness, vigor, 
hardiness quality and productiveness. Out of 800 trees it readily attracted attention 
as being the most thrifty and beautiful. The original tree was planted eight years ago 
and has fruited five years, and is now one-third larger than any Early Richmond tree of 
the same age in same orchard near Seneca, Kansas, on the grounds of S. J. Baldwin the 
introducer. 

VREDENBURG 4 CO., ROCHESTER. N. Y. 



THE CHERRY 

IN KANSAS, 

WITH A CHAPTER ON THE APRICOT AND NECTARINE. 



"Cherries are Ripe!" 

Makes boys, birds and everybody happy. 

" Cherry Pie" 
Fits every appetite, and little is left for tramps. 



OUR HORTICULTURISTS SHOULD BE 

better acquainted with 




COMPILED AND REVISED FOR THE 

KANSAS STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, 

' "' "s'Tc "; '""' T"""'' LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

State Capitol, Topeka, Kan. »•■•#••■ 

RECEIVED 



JUL 2 3 190^ 

Division OF DOCUMENTS. 



ISSUED BY THE STATE, 



1900. 



JUL 23 1301 
D. 9f D, 



,"3 



a\ 






a 



THE CHERRY. 



DEFINITIONS. 

Standard Dictionary : (1) A tree or shrub of the genus Primus 
(which also includes the plum), bearing a fleshy drupe with a bony- 
stone, {a) The common garden cherry {P. cerasus), of which sev- 
eral hundred varieties are cultivated for the fruit, some of which are, 
the Bigarreau, Blackheart, Black Tartarian, Oxheart, Morelle or Mor- 
ello, May Duke (corrupted from Medoc, of France), {h) The wild 
cherry : as, P. serotina (wild black cherry), valued for its timber. P. 
virginiana (choke cherry), an American shrub which bears astringent 
fruit. P. avium and P. padus, European tree (bird cherry). 

Century Dictionary : (1) The fruit of a species of Cerasus {\ih\ch. 
is commonly regarded as a subgenus of Prunus), consisting of a glo- 
bose pulpy drupe enclosing a one-seeded, smooth stone. The culti- 
vated varieties of the garden cherry probably all belong to two species, 
P. cerasus and P. aviurn, both doubtless natives of Europe. It is 
related by Pliny that this fruit or a cultivated variety 6f it was brought 
from Cerasus in Pontus to Italy after the defeat of Mithridates by 
Lucellus, about 70 B. C. It was introduced into England by the 
Romans about 120 years afterward. There are many kinds, as the 
red, black and white hearted, the May Duke, Bigarreau, Morello, 
Kentish, etc. The wild or crab cherry, Mazzard or Gean of Great Brit- 
ain, in a wild state of the P. avium, which is also found in various 
other parts of Europe. From the fruit of its different varieties several 
highly esteemed cordials are prepared, as the Maraschino of Italy, tlifr 
Ratafia of France, the Kirschwasser of Germany, etc. To this group, 
of cherries, distinguished by having their flowers and fruits in clus- 
ters, belong also the Mahaleb cherry {P. mahaleh) of Europe, with 
very fragrant flowers, and the ground-cherry {P. pennsylvanica) , and 
the dwarf cherry ( P. pumila), of North America. A second section 
of the genus has the flower in racemes, and the fruit smaller and less 
palatable. To this belong the bird-cherry {P. padus) of Europe, and 
the wild black cherry, also called the rum or cabinet cherry {P. sero- 
tina), and the choke-cherry (P. virginiana) of America. Still a third 
section consists of evergreen trees, with the flowers in racemes and the: 



4 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

fruit inedible, including the bastard cherry, bay-cherry or laurel- cherry 
{P. laiiro-cerasus) of Europe, and the Carolina laurel-cherry {P. 
carolinana) of the southern United States. 

OxHEART. — A large variety of cherry, so called from its shape. 

MoRELLO. — A kind of cherry with a dark red skin, becoming nearly 
black if allowed to hang long. The flesh is deep purplish red, tender, 
juicy, and acid. It is a standard cherry, much used in cooking and 
preserved in brandy. 

May Duke. — (A corruption of Medoc, a district near Bordeaux, 
France, from which these cherries were introduced.) A variety of 
cherry of the sour type. 



THE CHERRY IN KANSAS. 

Our people have hardly come up to a full understanding of the 
value of this fruit. Our markets are never one-quarter supplied and 
the demand is increasing. Occasionally a horticulturist who for some 
unaccountable reason put out few or many cherry trees is greatly sur- 
prised when they come into bearing to find them a bonanza, Grow- 
ers near our larger towns are enthusiastic over the nice returns. 
Several, of our growers claim a profit of $250 per acre from their cher- 
ries. They are almost a sure croi^ year by year. Coming early, the 
first of the tree fruits, the trees have a long growing season in which 
to recuperate, and prepare material for a crop the following season. 
While the crop of cherries varies in quantity yet there is almost never 
a total failure. Heavy spring frosts are most to be feared. The cur- 
culio, the aphis and birds affect them some, but still we have cherries, 
and the young robins and other fledglings annually build up their 
■systems upon such choice delicacies as Richmond, Montmorency, etc. 
For the aphis we should spray, for curculio jar, for the birds, bells, 
stuffed cats, hawks, etc., are used; but we should plant more ; we can 
grow so many in our soil and climate that the birds cannot increase 
in proportion ; besides, after cherries are gone, and healthy bird ap- 
petites remain, the insects are devoured next. Plant cherries ! We 
have not yet found a sweet cherry that is sure here. Ostheim is good. 
Governor Wood is uncertain. As the sour cherry tree grows low and 
wide, we cannot do as the Europeans, plant cherry trees along the 
roadside; but our lands are cheap, and we might get a fine income 
from many a waste acre if planted to cherries. They are as early to 
market as berries, and sell as readily. No fruit is preferable for can- 
ning, and cherry pie is the choicest of pies. 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 5 

"Can she make a cherry pie 
Billy boy, Billy boy? 
Can she make a cherry pie, 

Charming Billy ? 
Yes, she can make a cherry pie, 
The top notch for you and I, 
But the young thing will never leave her mother." 

This girl knew how to " touch " Billy in the right spot, but she 
wanted to stay with the one who had taught her the secret, as she 
knew there was more a comin'. See recipes in this book. 



THE CHERRY. 

From Downing"s " Fruit and Fruit-trees of Amercia." 

Cerasiis sylvestris, and C. vtiJgaria, Arb. Brit. Bosacece, of the botanist. 
Cerisier, of the French. Kirschenhaum,G&rvcL9,n. Czr/er/o, Italian. Cerezo, 
Spanish. 

The cherry is a fine, luxuriant fruit-tree, with smooth, light-colored 
bark, and generally of rapid growth. The varieties of the black 
and heart-shaped cherries are always vigorous, and form fine, large, 
.spreading heads, forty or fifty feet in height; but those of the acid 
or red cherry are of lower, more bushy and tardy growth. In the 
spring the cherry tree is profusely covered with clusters of snow-white 
blossoms, and earlier in the summer than upon any other tree. These 
are followed by abundant crops of juicy, sweet or acid fruit, hanging 
ujDon long stalks, and enclosing a smooth stone. The cherry comes 
originally from Asia, and the Roman general, Lucullus, after a victo- 
rious expedition into Pontus, has the reputation of having brought it 
to Italy from Cerasus, a town in that province, in the year 69 B. C. 
According to Pliny, the Romans, 100 years after this, had eight va- 
rieties in cultivation, and they were soon afterwards carried to all 
parts of Europe. The seeds of the cultivated cherry were brought to 
this country very early after its settlement both from England and 
Holland. 

Uses. — As pleasant and refreshing dessert fruit the cherry is every- 
where esteemed. The early season at which it ripens, its juiciness, 
delicacy, and richness, render it always acceptable. While the large 
and fleshy varieties are 3xceedingly sweet and luscious, others, which 
are more tender and more or less acid, are very valuable for pies, 
tarts, and various kinds of cookery. The fruit of the Kentish or 
Early Richmond is excellent when stoned and dried, and the Maz- 
zard and our wild Virginia cherries are used to give a flavor to brandy. 
When canned, they retain their character and are very delicious. The 



t) THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

Dukes or Merellos are best for their purpose. The celebrated Ger- 
man Kirschwaeser is made by distilling the liquor of the common 
black Mazzard or Gean (in which the stones are ground or broken 
and fermented with the pulp), and the delicious Ratafia cordial of 
Grenoble is also made from this fruit. Maraschino, the most cele- 
brated liquor of Italy, is distilled from a small Gean or Mazzard, with 
which, in fermenting, honey and the leaves and kernels of the fruit 
are mixed. 

The gum of the cherry is nearly identical with gum arable, and 
there are some marvelous stories told of its nutritive properties. 
The wood of the cherry is hard and durable, and is therefore valuable 
for many purposes ; but the best wood is afforded by our wild or 
Virginia cherry, which is a very good substitute for mahogany, tak- 
ing a fine polish. 

The large-growing sorts of black cherry are the finest of all fruit- 
trees for shade, and are therefore generally chosen by farmers who 
are always desirous of combining the useful and the ornamental. 
Indeed, the cherry, from its symmetrical form, its rapid growth, its 
fine shade and beautiful blossoms, is exceedingly well suited for a 
road-side tree in agricultural districts. We wish we could induce the 
planting of avenues of this and other fine-growing fruit-trees in our 
country neighborhoods, as is the beautiful custom in Germany, af- 
fording ornament and a grateful shade to the traveler at the same mo- 
ment. Mr. Loudon, in his "Arboretum," gives the following account 
of the cherry avenues in Germany, which we gladly lay before our 
readers : 

On the continent, and more especially in Germany and Switzerland, the cherry 
is much used as a roadside tree; particularly in the northern part of Germany, 
where the apple and the pear will not thrive. In some countries the road passes 
for miles together through an avenue of cherry trees. In Moravia, the road 
from Brunn to Olmutz passes through such an avenue, extending upwards of 
sixty miles in length; and in the autumn of 1828 we traveled for several days 
through almost one continuous avenue of cherry trees, from Strasburg by a 
circuitous route to Munich. These avenues, in Germany, are planted by the de- 
sire of the respective governments, not only for shading the traveler, but in order 
that the poor jjedestrian may obtain refreshment on his journey. All persons 
are allowed to partake of the cherries, on condition of not injuring the trees, but 
the main crop of the cherries, when ripe, is gathered by the respective proprie- 
tors of the land on which it grows ; and when these are anxious to preserve the 
fruit of any particular tree, it is, as it were, tabooed; that is, a whisp of straw 
is tied in a conspicuous part of one of the branches, as vines by the roadside in 
France, when the grapes are ripe, are protected by sprinkling a plant here and 
there with a mixture of lime and water, which marks the leaves with conspicu- 
ous white blotches. Every one who has traveled on the continent in the fruit 
season must have observed the respect that is paid to these appropriating marks; 
and there is something highly gratifying in this, and in the humane feeling dis- 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 7 

played by the princes of the different countries in causing the trees to be planted. 
It would indeed be lamentable if kind treatment did not produce a correspond- 
ing return. 

Soil and Situation. — A dry soil for the clierry is a universal 
maxim, and although it is so hardy a tree that it will thrive in a great 
variety of soils, yet a good sandy or gravelly loam is its favorite place. 
It will indeed grow in much thinner and dryer soils than most other 
fruit-trees, but to obtain the finest fruit a deep and mellow soil of 
good quality is desirable. When it is forced to grow in wet places, 
or where the roots are constantly damp, it soon decays and is short- 
lived. And we have seen this tree, when forced into too luxuriant a 
growth in our overrich Western soils, become so gross in its wood as 
to bear little or no fruit, and split open in its trunk, and soon perish. 
It is a very hardy tree, and will bear a great variety of exposures with- 
out injury. In deep, warm valleys, liable to spring frosts, it is, how- 
ever, well to plant it on the north side of hills, in order to retard it in 
the spring. 

Pfox>agation. — The finer sorts are nearly always propagated by 
budding on seedlings of the common black Mazzard, which is a very 
common kind, producing a great abundance of fruit, and very healthy, 
free-growing stocks. To raise these stocks, the cherries should be 
gathered when fully ripe, and allowed to lie two or three days together, 
so that they may be partially or wholly freed from the pulp by wash- 
ing them in water. They should then be planted immediately in 
drills in the seed plat, covering them about an inch deep. They will 
then vegetate in the following spring, and in good soil will be fit for 
XDlanting out in the nursery rows in the autumn or following spring, 
at a distance of ten or twelve inches apart in the row. Many persons 
preserve their cherry-stones in sand, either in the cellar or in the open 
air, until spring, but we have found this a more precarious mode ; the 
cherry being one of the most delicate of seeds when it commences to 
vegetate, its vitality is frequently destroyed by leaving it in the sand 
twenty-four hours too long, or after it has commenced sprouting. 

After planting in the nursery rows, the seedlings are generally fit 
for budding in the month of August following. And in order not to 
have weak stocks overpowered by vigorous ones, they should always 
be assorted before they are planted, placing those of the same size in 
rows together. Nearly all the cherries are grown with us as standards. 
The English nurserymen usually bud their standard cherries as high 
as they wish them to form heads, but we always prefer to bud them 
on quite young stocks, as near the ground as possible, as they then 
shoot up clean, straight, smooth stems, showing no clumsy joint where 
the bud and the stock are united. In srood soils the buds will fre- 



O THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

quently make shoots six to eight feet high the first season after the 
stock is headed back. Grafting of the cherry may be performed the 
same as with the apple and pear, but the work, to be successful, should 
always be performed early in the season, before the frost is well out 
of the ground. If omitted until the buds begin to swell strongly, the 
chances of success are less than those of failure. 

When dwarf trees are required, the Morello seedlings are used as 
stocks, or the Perfumed cherry {Cerasus mahaleh) is employed; but 
as standards are almost universally preferred, these are seldom seen 
here. Dwarfs in the nursery must be headed back the second year, 
in order to form lateral shoots near the ground. 

Cultivation. — The cherry, as a standard tree, may be said to re- 
quire little or no cultivation in the Middle states, further than occa- 
sionally supplying old trees with a little manure, to keep up their 
vigor, pruning out a dead or crossing branch, and washing the stem 
with soft soap should it become hard and bark- bound. Pruning, the 
cherry very little needs, and as it is always likely to produce gum 
(and this decay), it should be avoided, except when really required. 
It should then be done in midsummer, as that is the only season when 
the gum is not more or less exuded. The cherry is not a very long- 
lived tree, but in favorable soil the finest varieties generally endure 
about thirty or forty years. In the county of Perry, Ohio, there is a 
tree of the Black Mazzard variety which is eighty feet high, and four 
feei one inch in diameter of main trunk, while the length of the lar- 
gest limb or branch is forty-two feet. A large cherry tree at Walworth, 
N. Y., is recorded as measuring fourteen feet six inches in circumfer- 
ence, sixty feet in height, and having a spread of over four rods. It 
has produced forty bushels of fruit in one season. Twenty feet apart 
for the strong, and eighteen feet for the slow-growing kinds, is the 
proper distance. 

Gathering the Fruit. — This tender and juicy fruit is best when 
freshly gathered from the tree, and it should always be picked with 
the stalks attached. For the dessert, the flavor of many sorts in our 
climate is rendered more delicious by placing the fruit, for an hour or 
two previous, in an ice-house or refrigerator, and bringing them upon 
the table cool, with dew-drops standing upon them. For the market 
or transportation long distances, they should be gathered only when 
perfectly dry. 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 



THE CHERRY. 

Written for Bailey's "Cyclopedia of American Horticulture,"' by G. Harold Powell, and 
published on page 291 of same. 

Cultivated tree cherries have probably sprung from the European 
species, Pniniis avium Linn., and Prunus eerasus Linn. The do- 
mesticated forms of P. avium are characterized by a tall, erect growth ; 
reddish brown, glossy bark, which separates in rings ; flowers gener- 
ally in clusters on lateral spurs, appearing with the limp, gradually 
taper-pointed leaves ; fruit red, yellow, or black, generally siveet, 
spherical, heart-shaped or pointed; flesh soft or firm. Sour cherries 
are low-headed and spreading ; flowers in clusters from lateral buds, 
appearing before the hard, stiff*, rather abruptly pointed, light or 
grayish green leaves. The following is the latest classification. 
(Bailey, Bulletin No. 98, Cornell Exp. Sta.) 

Prunus avium has four representatives in the United States : (1) 
The Mazzards, or inferior seedlings ; fruit of various shapes and col-' 
ors; common along roadside. In the middle Atlantic states the wild 
Mazzard trees often attain great age and size, particularly in the Del- 
aware-Chesapeake peninsula. (2) The Hearts, or heart-shaped, 
sweet cherries, light or dark, represented by Black Tartarian and Gov- 
ernor Wood. (3) The Bigarreaus, or heart-shaped, firm-fleshed, 
sweet cherries, like the Napoleon and Windsor. (4) The Dukes; 
light-colored, somewhat acid flesh, such as May Duke and Reine 
Hortense. 

From Prunus cerasus two classes have si^rung: (1) The Ama- 
RELLES, or light-colored sour cherries, with colorless juice, represented 
by Early Richmond and Montmorency. (2) The Morellos, or dark- 
colored sour cherries, with dark-colored juice, like the English Mo- 
rello and Louis Philippe. 

The following species also have horticultural value : Prunus ma- 
haleh, an old-world type, hardier and smaller, on which other cherries 
are largely worked. P. j^^nnsylvanica, the native wild red, pin or 
bird-cherry, whose hardiness may adapt it as a stock for the plains 
states. P. hesseyi and P. puinila, the native sand or dwarf cherries, 
the former represented by the Improved Dwarf Rocky Mountain 
cherry. 

The cherry is not cultivated as a Iteading industry east of the Rocky 
mountains, excepting in western New York, where the sour varieties 
are grown for canning. The sweet cherry is confined mostly to door- 
yard and fence-corner plantings. Sour kinds are found in orchard 
blocks in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, 
Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, and Nebraska. Sweet-cherry culture, how- 



10 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

ever, is adapted to the states between the thirty-ninth and forty- 
forth degrees of latitiide and the sixty-eighth and eighty-sixth degrees 
of longitude [this area is not in Kansas], and to contiguous areas 
having similar climatic conditions. Spontaneous forms of it attain 
great size on the Chesapeake peninsula. The sour cherry may be 
grown with profit between the thirty-fifth and fourth-fifth degrees of 
latitude and the sixty- eighth and one hundredth degrees of longitude 
[five-sevenths of Kansas is within this area]. The Mazzard is the 
best stock for both sweet and sour cherries in the East. The Mahaleb 
is more widely used for the sour kinds, hoM^ever, as it is easier to bud, 
and it is free from leaf-blight in the nursery. The Mazzard forms a 
better root system, stronger union, a longer-lived tree, and is suffi- 
ciently hardy. For the plains states the hardier Mahaleb stocks 
should be used. 

The cherry likes an elevated, naturally light, dry, loamy, retentive 
soil. The sour kinds need more moisture, and will thrive in heavier 
land. A soil not naturally dry may be corrected by underdraining, 
and on light, dry knolls the moisture capacity may be increased by 
green manures and surface tillage. The sweet cherries should be set 
twenty-eight feet to thirty feet apart each way ; the sour kinds, from 
sixteen to eighteen feet. The trees are generally set at two years from 
the bud. The sweet kinds are started with three to five arms, with 
no central leader, about three and one-half feet high, and the branches 
are pruned to side buds for a few years to induce spreading, rather 
than a spike-like form. The top of a sour cherry is made like that of 
a peach tree. Plow the cherry orchard lightly in the early spring, 
and cultivate it every ten days, or after every rain, till the middle of 
June or the 1st of July. Seed at the last cultivation with a winter 
cover crop. Stimulate the trees with leguminous cover crops when 
needed ; but the sweet cherry is a gross feeder and a rapid grower, and 
undue stimulation must be avoided. Keep the orchard in sod and 
pasture it with sheep, along the southern and western limits of profit- 
able sweet cherry culture, and withhold nitrogenous manures. 

Nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid are the three essential fer- 
tilizers. Nitrogen may be supplied in leguminous crops ; potash as 
muriate, at 150 pounds to 300 pounds; and phosphoric acid in dis- 
solved rock, at 300 pounds to 500 pounds per acre. 

Cherries should be picked by the stem in small baskets a few days 
before ripe. Sort out all stemless, small and imperfect fruits. Face 
the perfect cherries in small, attractive boxes or baskets, and pack 
these in small cases or orates. The choicer the fruit the more strik- 
ingly it should be displayed. Guard against breaking the fruit spurs 
in picking the sweet cherries. Fruit for canning is less laboriously 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 11 

packed, 'but may [should] be as carefully picked. The profits depend 
on the varieties and markets, but largely on the personality of the 
grower, and on his skill as a salesman. The range of profit for the 
•sour cherry is from $30 to $100 per acre, and from $50 to $300 or 
more for the sweet. 

The varieties adapt themselves to a wide range of territory. An 
imperative need, however, is the development of varieties with strik- 
ing features for local adaptation. In the prairie states in the extreme 
north the hardier Amarelles and Morellos comprise the profitable 
kinds. Formerly the dark-colored, more acid Morellos were most 
sought after ; now the milder Amarelles are demanded by both can- 
ners and consumers. In the following lists the varieties are named 
more for the purpose of illustrating the different types than for rec- 
ommending specific varieties. Among Amarelles the Early Rich- 
mond and Montmorency are the leading types. 

Early Richmond : Size medium ; pit large ; light red ; poor quality ; 
vigorous growth. Ripens June 20 in New York. 

Montmorency : Large, broad, flattened ; pit medium ; light red ; 
flesh nearly colorless ; juice moderately sour ; vigorous growth ; gen- 
erally productive. Two weeks after Early Richmond. Most valuable 
Amarelle for the east. 

Among the Morellos, Ostheim, Louis Philippe and English Mo- 
rello are important types. 

Ostheim : Dark red ; roundish, flesh dark, tender, juice mild, dark : 
productive, hardy ; growth slender. A week after Early Richmond, 
smaller. Too early for the East. [One of the best for Kansas. 
Keeps well after picking. ] 

Louis Philippe : Size of Montmorency, and ripens with it ; round ; 
acid ; skin and flesh dark. Rather shy bearer in the East, but valu- 
able in the West. 

English Morello : Two weeks later than Montmorency ; more open, 
drooping habit ; fruit medium ; roundish ; red-black ; very sour ; 
slightly astringent ; flesh and juice dark, purplish crimson. 

Among the sweet cherries, the firm-fleshed red or black Bigarreaus 
are the most profitable. The light Bigarreaus and Hearts are more 
susceptible to the fruit rot, and sell less readily. Representative 
types of Heart and light Bigarreau cherries are the following : 

Black Tartarian : The most valuable Heart cherry ; productive, vig- 
orous, hardy, early ; large, dark red or black ; flesh dark purplish ; 
very juicy, sweet. 

Napoleon : One of the best light Bigarreaus. Fruit large ; flesh 
hard, brittle, colorless ; light lemon yellow, with reddish cheek ; heavy 
bearer ; rots if not picked before ripe ; splits in wet weather. A week 
before Black Tartarian. 



12 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

From the dark Bigarreau the following are among the best types r 

Robert's Red Heart : Bright, dark red, with an under mottling ; as 
large as Napoleon; flesh pinkish; juice nearly colorless, subacid; 
heavy, regular bearer in Hudson river valley. Ripens with Napoleon. 

Mezel : Large, heart-shaped, obtuse, flattened at both sides; un- 
even skin, dark red to black ; firm, but heart-like ; juicy ; very sweet, 
stem long and tortuous ; heavy bearer locally. Ripens with Napoleon. 

Windsor: Large, roundish-oblong, firm, juicy; mottled dark red; 
flesh pinkish white ; stem medium, set in a slight broad depression ; 
heavy bearer, vigorous, upright. Ripens two weeks after Napoleon. 
Very profitable. 

Dikeman : Large, heart-shaped, obtuse, flattened on one side; 
black, with extremely firm reddish flesh ; subacid, reddish juice ; stem 
medium, in a slight broad depression ; vigorous. Rix^ens three weeks 
or more after Windsor. A variety of great value. 

DISEASES AND INSECTS. 

The brown rot {Monilia fructigena), which attacks the fruit at 
the ripening period, and particularly during sultry weather, can be 
largely avoided by jDicking the fruit a few days before ripe. It may 
also fatally attack the flowers, leaves, and twigs. In localities where 
the cherry blooms but does not fruit, the trees should be sprayed with' 
Bordeaux mixture before the buds unfold, again when the fruit is set, 
and two or three times thereafter, with a colorless fungicide. 

Black-knot, [Plovrigliiia morhosa Sacc.) [See elsewhere in this 
book. ] 

Leaf-blight ( Cylindrosporiuvi padi Karst ) . [ See elsewhere in 
this book.] 

Powdery mildew {Podosphcera oxycanthcv De Bray). Often se- 
vere in the sour cherry, but can be checked by thorough applications 
of a fungicide. 

The aj^his {Mysus cerasi Linn.) appears in the early part of the 
season on the young shoots, the leaves, the stems, and less frequently 
on the body or the fruit of the sweet cherries. It excretes honey-dew 
abundantly. The leaves curl upward and inward. Spray with kero- 
sene emulsion, one part to sixteen of water, or with fish-oil soap, one 
pound to six gallons of water, before the leaves curl. 

The curculio {Conotrachelus nenuphar). [ See elsewhere in this 
book.] 

Climatic injuries. — Sun-scald and bursting of the bark. The sweet 
cherry is liable to a fatal injury from sun-scald in the South and 
prairie states. The trouble occurs in the spring, when the rays of the 
sun cause alternate freezing and thawing of the growing tissues on 
the south and west sides. In these localities, the bark of the tree 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 13 

frequently bursts open, and large quantities of gum exude. A rich 
garden loam, a summer drought followed by rain, excessive wood stimu- 
lation, violent changes of temperature in the winter, or other factors 
unfavorable to the maturing of the wood, aggravate the difficulty. 
The bursting of the bark is probably caused by the freezing and thaw- 
ing of the tissues under these unfavorable conditions. Both troubles 
are more injurious to trees with exposed trunks. A low-headed and 
spreading top, soils not too rich, and cultural methods which favor 
the early maturity of the wood, lessen the danger. The trunks may 
also be protected by a board, matting or screen of some kind on the 
sunny side during the spring months. 



{ Written for Bailey's " Cyclopedia of American Horticulture," by Edward J. Wickson, and 
published on page 293 of same.) 

The Cherry in California. — In commercial importance, the 
•cherry is least of the fruits of the temperate zone grown in Califor- 
nia on a commercial scale. This is not because the finest cherries 
cannot be grown, but because the avenues for the disposition of the 
product are not as wide as for other leading fruits. Recently there 
are indications that these avenues will be widened, for last year ( 1898 ) 
about 300 car-loads were profitably shipped in a fresh state to Eastern 
markets, and a product of 500,000 cases of canned cherries was dis- 
posed of to advantage; but until it is demonstrated that such distant 
demands will increase, present plantations will not be largely extended. 

Cherries are costly in picking and packing, and to incur the chances 
of a local market, oversupplied whenever the trees do their full duty, 
the grower does not enjoy. Cherry drying has never seemed warranted 
on a large scale, because of the large amount of labor required to the 
pound of product; and the grower has had no recourse when the can- 
ner and local consumer will only pay the cost of picking and boxing. 
A good shipping demand seems, therefore, to measure the extension 
of California's cherry interest, and the early ripening of the fruit, 
which permits its sale during the blooming season of Eastern cherry 
trees, is the leading surety of such demand. On several occasions 
early varieties have been shipped from the Vacaville district overland, 
on March .'Jl, but the usual oijcning date is about two weeks later, and 
thence onward later varieties, and from later regions, may be shipped 
until July, if found profitable. But, though there is plenty of good 
land upon which to multiply the present total of half a million trees, 
the cherry regions of California are restricted. It is one of the most 
exacting of all trees, and is only profitable wdien its requirements are 
respected. 

About one-half of the present acreage lies in valleys opening upon 



14 THE KANSAS CHBRRY. 

the Bay of San Francisco, where deep and moist but well-drained 
alluvial soil fosters strong and sound root growth, and modified at- 
mospheric aridity favors leaf and fruiting. On similar deep and moist 
soils, however, the tree enters the hot interior valleys to certain limits, 
chiefly along the river bottoms. It abhors dry plains. In dry air it 
usually refuses to fruit, although, if the soil be moist, it may make a 
stalwart tree growth. In foot-hill valleys it sometimes does admirably, 
both in growth and fruiting, and in mountain valleys, above an eleva- 
tion of 2000 feet, on good soil, and in greater rainfall, and even with 
the snow flurries, which are experienced every year at proper eleva- 
tion, the trees become very thrifty and profitable to the limits of local 
markets. The tree seems to have no geographical limitations in Cali- 
fornia ; wherever suitable soil and weather conditions occur it accepts 
the situation — the Dukes and Morrellos succeeding under conditions 
too trying for the Hearts and Bigarreaus, but the latter comprise all 
the varieties that are of commercial account. 

Cherry trees are grown by budding upon Mazzard and Mahaleb 
seedlings — the latter chiefly imported. It is customary to plant out 
in orchards at the end of the first year's growth from the bud, though 
two-year-old cherry trees can be more successfully handled than 
other two-year-olds. The trees are headed at one to two feet from 
the ground, cut back to promote low branching for two years, and 
then allowed to make long branches, and not usually shortened in, so 
long' as thrifty and healthy. The tree, in a good environment, is,, 
however, a very hardy tree, and will endure pruning to almost any 
degree. We have many trees which have made a very broad but not 
usually high growth, bearing 1000 pounds of fruit to the tree, and a 
few others which have even doubled that figure, while others have 
been dwarfed and trained en espalier. The commercial orchards are, 
however, uniformly of low trees, approximately of vase form in ex- 
terior outline, and with branches curving outward without shortening. 

The cherry is very readily grafted over by the usual top-grafting 
methods, and large orchards have been thus transformed into varieties 
more acceptable for canning or shipping. Comparatively few varie- 
ties are grown. Early Purple Guigne, Guigne Marbre, and Knight's 
Early Black are grown in early ripening localities. Black Tartarian 
and Lewelling are the mainstay for black cherries. The Napoleon 
Bigarreau (locally known as Royal Ann) is the ideal for a white 
cherry, and almost excludes all others, though the Kockport Bigar- 
reau has some standing. Of all the varieties grown, the Black Tar- 
tarian and Napoleon Bigarreau constitute seventy per cent, of the 
crop and probably ninety per cent, of the amount marketed. 

California-grown cherries attain large size ; the canner's require- 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 15 

ment for fancy fruit is a diameter not less than seven-eighths of an 
inch, and for No. 1, not less than three-fourths of an inch. Whole- 
sale prices usually range from $40 to $60 per ton for black and $80 to 
$120 for white, but this year ( 1899 ) canners have paid as high as 
$160 per ton for white cherries. The higher rates can only be ex- 
pected during years of short crops. 



A KANSAS CHERRY— THE BALDWIN, {tiee colored plate) 

By its Discoverer. 

The original was planted in the spring of 1888 in an orchard at 
Seneca, Kan., for an Early Richmond cherry, which had been bud- 
ded on a common Morello seedling. The budded part was acciden- 
tally broken off and a sprout came from the root which seemed so 
vigorous that it was left to grow. It proved to be such a rank grower 
that it soon attracted attention, and when it fruited, which was the 
fourth year, it showed so much finer, larger and better fruit than any 
other, that the small boys always sought it out from among several 
hundred cherry trees of various sorts. The tree is an upright, vigor- 
ous grower, forming a round head ; leaves large and broad ; bloom 
pure white, changing to pink; fruit large, almost round, very dark, 
transparent wine color; flavor slightly acid, yet the sweetest and 
richest of the Morello type ; stems rather large, of medium length, 
and generally in pairs. Unexcelled in earliness, vigor, hardiness, 
quality and productiveness. Out of 800 trees it readily attracts at- 
tention as being the most thrifty and beautiful. 

It fruited four years, and each year seemed to be so uniform in 
size, productiveness and earliness, that I decided to give it a name 
and propagate from it. It was first named the "Kansas Queen," but 
on account of it being against the rules of the American Pomological 
Society to give compound names to new fruits, and upon the sugges- 
tion of W. F. Hiekes, of Huntsville, Ala., who became interested in 
it, it was named "Baldwin." Since then I have gathered fruit from 
it every year. 

The unprecedented severe cold weather of the winter of 1898-'99 
fully tested its endurance and hardiness. All Baldwin cherry trees 
came through in the best of condition, with perfect buds, more vigor- 
ous and thrifty than English Morello, Early Richmond or Montmo- 
rency in same orchard under same conditions, and while old varieties 
show forty per cent, of dead trees and only half a crop of fruit, the 
original Baldwin tree was loaded with fruit, and 200 Baldwin trees 
planted in orchard in spring of 1898 show only a loss of four percent. 



16 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

This proves by its tested hardiness, its extreme productiveness, taken 
in consideration with its large size, beautiful shape, and most delicious 
quality, together with its superior shipping qualities, that it is ahead 
[for the West] of any other cherry known. The fruit ripened this 
year (1900) June 17, and was loaded, as usual. 

Oregon, Mo., July 22, 1898. 
Mr. S. J. Baldwin, Seneca, Kan.: 

Dear Sir — The samples of Baldwin cherry sent me by mail last month came 
in nice condition, and on examination I found them to be a large, beautiful Mo- 
rello, of very firm flesh and good quality. I regard it as superior to any of the old 
varieties; and if it is an abundant bearer it will certainly prove a great acquisi- 
tion to our list of Morello cherries. Yours truly, N. F. Murray, 

President Missouri State Horticultural Society. 

Davenport, Iowa, July 22, 1898. 
Dear Sir — -The Baldwin cherry arrived in fine condition, and is a much bet- 
ter cherry than English Morello. Nichols & Lorton. 

Dear Sir — Accept my thanks for the Baldwin cherry. They are surely a 
superior Morello. I will be very pleased to try a few trees here. 

I am, yours, E. W. M. Kirkpatrick, McKinney, Tex. 

Dear Sir — Having eaten fruit from your Baldwin cherry tree, I am free to 
testify to its superior quality, large size, beautiful color and shape. I consider it 
a great acquisition to our cherry list, and far better than any Morello cherry I 
have ever seen, and, as it is about three weeks earlier, T think it should be 
planted largely; it will certainly be profitable as a commercial cherry. The tree 
rs a very healthy, vigorous grower, being fully one-third larger than other cherry 
tre68 of same age. G. W. Johnson, Seneca, Kan. 



THE CHERRY. 

From " Fruit Manual," a work published iu 1SS6 by the State Horticultural Society of Kansas. 

This fruit has become a general favorite throughout the state. Us 
easy culture, hardiness and productiveness, and the value of its fruit 
for general uses, have caused a large planting in Kansas. It thrives 
quite well on either high or low lands, and on sandy and loamy soils. 
The Morello family is highly successful wherever planted, and em- 
braces the sour varieties — Early Richmond, Kentish, Montmorency, 
English Morello, and common red ( black ) Morello. In some locali- 
ties the finer flavored varieties — as May Duke, Governor Wood, Royal 
Duke, Belle Magnifique, Belle de Choisy, Reine Hortense — are quite 
successful. The class known as "sweet varieties" do not succeed. 
The tree often becomes fatally injured by the intense heat of summer 
and the extremes of winter weather. 

The main requisites in successful culture are deeply prepared and 
enriched land, where not so by nature, and a vigorous wood growth. 
Whenever a tree becomes stunted by neglect or from sterility of the 



THB KANSAS CHERRY. 17 

land decay soon sets in at the heart, and death generally follows in a 
few years. 

This, as well as all classes of soft fruits, should be as near the 
dwelling as practicable, for convenience in gathering the fruit and 
general care of the trees. 

High lands are preferable, as the fruit-buds are less liable to be 
injured by spring frosts, and the tree maintains a normal condition 
better through varying weather in winter, and better facilities are af- 
forded for circulation of the currents of air during extreme rainfalls 
and sudden changes in temperature. 

An eastern or northern slope is preferable, as trees do not suffer so 
much from droughts or heat of sun, and should be sufficiently in- 
clined to drain off any sudden, heavy rainfall, as a retention of a sur- 
plus amount in the land wall weaken the vigor of trees, and endangers 
their lives. 

A deep loam and a sandy soil are to be preferred ; but other soils 
can be made suitable by deep tillage and manuring, and for arid lands 
a heavy mulching. 

When planted on flat lands drains must be provided ; but on slopes 
water is seldom retained in amount detrimental to the trees. This is 
forcibly impressed on the grower when heavy and continuous rains 
flood the land at the ripening period, which is follow^ed with cracking 
and bursting of the fruit, rendering almost the entire crop unmarket- 
able. 

On open prairie windbreaks are an advantage, when on the south 
side only. 

Deep plowing and pulverizing of the surface and stirring of the 
subsoil are as much needed with the cherry as any fruit. Sterile 
lands must be well enriched with barn-yard litter, wood ashes, or any 
well-rotted vegetable matter. 

The trees should never be over two years old ; strong, vigorous, and 
well rooted. A second-class tree is never cheap, and its use is ques- 
tionable economy ; better plant fewer of the first class, at same cost. 
Of stock there are three kinds, viz., Mahaleb, Mazzard, and common 
Morello. Mahaleb is short-lived, Mazzard not always hardy, and Mo- 
rello sprouts from the root. The preference of the Society has been 
towards Morello as preferable, claiming early and profuse fruiting and 
hardiness. 

The holes, experience in Kansas has demonstrated, need not be any 
larger than is necessary to receive the roots when spread out naturally, 
and deep enough to set the tree about as deep as it grew in the nurs- 
ery. In light, sandy soil it may be some deeper, but not in clay or 
heavy soil. Several of our members have for the j)ast ten years been 
—2 



18 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

planting their orchards in the following manner, and we consider it 
as having more advantages than any yet recommended : First, pro- 
cure a half-dozen or more stakes, four or five feet high ; set these 
stakes in line where you want the south row of trees ; then, with a 
steady team, plow and mark out a straight furrow in range with the 
stakes ; have a man follow after and measure the distance for the next 
row to the north, and set the stakes, then mark out as for the first row ; 
and so on until the north side of the plat is reached. Now set the 
stakes north and south one foot east of where the east row of trees is 
wanted. Begin at the south end, and mark out a furrow in line with 
the stakes, throwing the furrow to the east ; then turn back, letting 
the near horse walk in the furrow ; run another furrow parallel with 
the first one, and about twenty inches west of it ; make one more 
round, and throw out the center, thereby making a dead furrow where 
the first row of trees is to stand. Use a good, stout team and have a 
dead furrow running north and south where the rows of trees are to 
stand, twenty to twenty-four inches wide and eight to ten inches deep, 
which is about the right depth. Go along with a shovel and throw 
out any loose dirt that may have fallen back where the east-and-west 
marks cross, where the trees are to stand. 

The cherry tree is a close grower, requiring little room, forming 
either an ujjright or low, round head, according to varieties. For 
conyenience in cultivation, the rows should be twenty feet apart, and 
trees fifteen feet in the row. 

Many trees fail because planted too late in the spring, and many 
more fail because planted in the fall. The safest time is in the 
spring, as soon as the winter's frost has left the ground. Let one 
man take a tree, set it in the dead furrow, where the east-Mid-west 
marks cross, spreading the roots in natural shape ; another throws on 
a few shovelfuls of well-pulverized surface-soil, seeing that this is 
well worked around the roots ; then let the one holding the tree tramp 
the soil well around it while the other fills, till the earth is about level 
with the surface. Lean to the southwest. It is best to plant the 
trees of each variety together [?]. 

The first summer after planting is a critical time and the trees 
should receive great care. Keep clean and cultivate well. Provide 
doubletree not over twenty- five to thirty inches long, and singletrees 
not over sixteen or eighteen inches, and when cultivating always 
use them. With care there is no need of barking. If planted 
in dead furrows, soon close up the dead furrows with a plow. In 
eight or ten days plow the ground again, throwing a furrow to the 
trees, not more than two or three inches deep, about four rounds to 
each row. Repeat three or four times during the season, or as often 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 19 

as the weeds start, running a little deeper each time. This gradually 
deepens the earth around the trees as the season advances, and by 
fall we have a deep, mellow bed eight feet wide and quite deep. All 
weeds not covered by the plow should be cut out with a hoe. On the 
ground between the rows i)lant crops that require cultivation, such as 
corn, potatoes, beans, etc. Corn is best, as it receives cultivation when 
the trees need it, and affords some protection from wind. The second 
year throw furrows from the trees, and next to them, and so on, keeping 
the ground clean and well stirred till the middle of July, when culti- 
vation should cease for the season. Stirring the ground later than 
this stimulates fall growth, which does not have time to ripen well, 
and is liable to winter-kill. The third, fourth and fifth years culti- 
vate as the second, and if the trees have been well cared for they will 
have become well established in fruiting. After this, if cultivation 
is not continued, the land should have each year a liberal dressing 
of stable litter. Cherry trees must be kept in a vigorous, growing 
condition, and if varieties adapted to our climate are used there will 
be but few failures. 

It is generally conceded that pruning is a necessity, the question be- 
ing as to the extent. The points are : First, a low and uniformly shaped 
head ; second, to facilitate the penetration of light and air to the inner 
portions of the head ; third, to encourage and direct annual growth to 
form a shade sufficient to break the force of the sun's intense heat 
upon the branches and trunk of the tree ; fourth, to remove all chaf- 
ing, straggling and succulent growth. It should be done mainly while 
the tree is young, and in the spring before the buds break into leaves. 
Succulent growth should be removed as it appears. 

Convenient ladders are found at almost any store dealing in hard- 
ware or implements. As the trees become large and tall, the staging 
platform is better. To construct this, two wooden horses are made of 
a convenient height, and placed at safe distances apart along the sides 
under the branches of the trees, and on their tops is constructed a 
platform where one or more pickers may stand and work. These will 
accommodate several pickers at a time, are movable, and easily shifted 
from place to place. 

A crate, made of light but strong material, and of a size to receive 
four common berry boxes, is suspended to the picker, adjusted to a 
convenient position in front of him, relieving both hands for picking. 

A shanty or i^acking-room is convenient, and will also be found 
handy for storing the fruit and to shelter the pickers from a sudden 
rainfall. In this may be constructed a facing and packing-table. 

If for shijoping, the best time to gather will be when wholly of a 
light red color — approaching scarlet ; if for a near market, a dark red 
color. 



20 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

The picking force should be divided into two sections. The first 
gathers all fruit within easy picking distance of the ground, and 
keeps in advance of the second section, which works from ladders or 
staging, and cleans up all. Cherries must be picked by the stem, 
and not by taking hold of the fruit, and care must be taken not to 
even start the stem from the fruit, as the juices will flow out, and such 
fruit quickly spoils. None but sound, ripe specimens should be 
placed in the boxes, and the top layer in every box should be an 
honest index of the whole. With the picking crate swung to the 
picker, he can easily do his work well, and quickly detect any dam- 
aged or inferior fruit before it is picked. As soon as the boxes in the 
picking crate are filled they are taken out and placed in a shipping 
crate, and others put in their place, and the crate when full carried to 
the facing table. 

Packing. — Facing consists in turning the stems of the top layer 
down, which gives the appearance of a solid surface. Boxes should 
be filled a little above their edges, to avoid the semblance of stinted 
measure, and provide for the inevitable settling sure to follow the 
jarring of transportation. Pack in twenty-four-box crates, close up 
securely, brand with name of variety and name of grower and con- 
signee, and send to destination at once. This fruit is never so at- 
tractive as when first taken from the tree, and the sooner it is in the 
market the more readily it will sell. The practice of facing is re- 
ceiving severe criticism, as offering too great temptation to dishonest 
conduct. [This book is for Kansans, not for "dishonest people.'"] 

Cherries can be safely held in a cold storage for several days, but 
must be quickly used when taken out ; this is an advantage to the 
grower when the market is overstocked. 



CHERRY GROWING FOR PROFIT. 

A paper read before the Southwestern Iowa Horticultural Society, by J. Q. Beeeyhill, 

of Des Moines. 

The fruit-growers of Iowa are interested in the growing of varieties 
that are generally known as the "sour cherries," but are more prop- 
erly called the Morellos. There has been some experimenting in 
the growing of the sweet cherries and of the Duke varieties, all of 
which have, I believe, been unsuccessful, although some of the Dukes 
have been grown in southern Iowa, and have borne more or less spar- 
ingly. The trees and fruit-buds are subject to winter-killing. It 
is claimed that certain varieties of sweet cherries, introduced by Prof. 
J. L. Budd, of the Iowa Agricultural College, from eastern Europe 
and western Asia, can be grown successfully in this latitude. I am, 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 21 

myself, exiDerimenting in growing the Orel Sweet, the Vilna Sweet, 
and the Yellow Glass. The first two, judging from the appearance of 
the trees and leaves, are of the Duke family, and the Yellow Glass 
evidently belongs to the Bigarreau. The Vilna Sweet has fruited in 
the vicinity of Des Moines, and, while it bears more or less sparingly, 
the fruit is of such superior quality as to justify its culture for home 
use. The Orel Sweet is a beautiful tree, but is, I fear, tender in fruit- 
bud, in view of the fact that the buds swell under the influence of 
abnormal heat in the fall, and the buds being thereby exposed to 
winter injury. 

Prof. L. H. Bailey, of Cornell University, New York, divides the 
sour cherries into two classes, the Amarelles, with uncolored juice, 
and the Morellos, with colored juice. The first division is repre- 
sented by the Early Richmond, and the second by the English Mo- 
rello. Successful growing of these sour or Morello cherries in the 
West is limited to a territory about 500 miles in width, commencing 
in the latitude of St. Louis on the south, and extending to the line 
of the Chicago & Northwestern railroad, in Iowa, north. 

This limit, it is probable, will be extended a degree or two further 
north by the introduction of the Russian varieties, many of which 
have already been satisfactorily tested in and north of the territory 
referred to. 

The varieties of the cherry with uncolored juice adapted to the 
latitude of the south half of Iowa are as follows : 

First, the Early Richmond, which may be regarded as the standard 
cherry of this territory, the same having been introduced with the 
earliest settlements, and now extensively grown in a wide extent of 
territory in the Northwest. The tree and fruit are so familiar to every 
one that further description is unnecessary. It is to-day the most re- 
liable known cherry for this section of the country. 

Second, the Dyehouse, grown by Mr. H. A. Terry, of Crescent, 
Pottawatomie county, Iowa, for the last thirty years. The tree is a 
more spreading grower than the Early Richmond. It is a fair bearer 
of fruit, very similar in appearance to the Early Richmond, possibly 
a little larger in size, a little deeper in color, and of about the same 
quality, and ripening a few days earlier. 

Third, the Late Richmond, similar to the Early Richmond in ap- 
pearance. The tree is rather an erect grower, and the fruit ripens 
about two weeks later than the Early Richmond. It is a little smaller 
in size, but is most excellent in quality. I have two trees growing on 
my farm, near Des Moines, over twenty years old. These trees have 
grown seven good crops during the seven years I have owned the 
place, and I have been led to propagate from them by reason of the 



22 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

good quality of the fruit, and the good bearing quality of the tree. I 
understand that the Late Richmond, as it is known in many portions 
of the state of Iowa, has the reputation of being a very poor bearer. 
This criticism, however, cannot be raised against the Late Richmond, 
as grown by me. 

The most beautiful of cherries with uncolored juice, and the most 
popular in the market, is the Montmorency. It should be called the 
Montmorency Ordinaire. The tree is an erect and symmetrical grower. 
The leaves are larger than those of the Early Richmond and the va- 
rieties above named. The fruit is long stemmed, a little flattened, 
much larger than the Early Richmond, and superior to that fruit in 
quality. I belive that this variety is grown in western Iowa and 
eastern Nebraska as the Large Montmorency. I have trees of the 
western Iowa variety growing side by side with the Montmorency 
Ordinaire, secured from Cornell University, New York, and the two 
cannot be distinglished. I believe that the western Iowa variety is 
improperly named the Large Montmorency, which is a distinct variety 
much inferior to the Ordinaire in bearing quality and size of fruit. 

The cherries with colored juice are represented by the following 
varieties : 

The English Morello. — The tree is dwarf in habit, the fruit large 
and somewhat heart-shaped, and very dark and beautiful in api3earance, 
but exceedingly sour. This variety is very prolific, and is a popular 
market sort. The tree, however, is short-lived. It is claimed that 
this variety, and all of those with colored juice, should be grown on 
Mazzard stock, as distinguished from the Mahaleb, and that on the 
Mazzard the tree will live a much longer time, as well as be more pro- 
lific. 

The Wragg is very similar to the English Morello in appearance, 
but it is exceedingly sour. The tree is a dwarf grower and very pro- 
lific. It is claimed that this variety is identical with the English 
Morello. As grown by me I think it can readily be distinguished 
from the English Morello, both in habit of tree and in flavor of fruit. 

A third variety of the dark cherries, now grown more or less exten- 
sively throughout the Northwest, is the Cerise d'Osthiem. The tree 
is somewhat dwarflsh in habit, the leaves have a peculiar heart-shaped 
form, and the branches are pendent. The variety is quite prolific. 
The fruit is quite dark, with dark juice, and is very much sweeter than 
the English Morello. A number of varieties of the Ostheim family 
have been planted in this country, but the one referred to is the best 
of the family. It was included in the Russian importations of Prof. 
J. L. Budd, of the Iowa Agricultural College. These Russian varieties 
are now being tested quite generally throughout the Northwest, and 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 23 

are indorsed by many growers as superior to the Early Richmond 
and the English Morello. 

Among the varieties that give promise of success, I mention the 
Orel, Sklanka, King's Araarelle, Lutovka. and the Terry, which was 
named by the Iowa Horticultural Society at its meeting in 1896. This 
variety was received by H. A. Terry, of Crescent, Pottawatomie county, 
Iowa, with other Russians from Professor Budd, twelve or thirteen 
years ago, but was improperly named. He called it for some years the 
Early Morello. Professor Budd, at the 1897 meeting of the Iowa Hor- 
ticultural Society, expressed the opinion that this variety was the 
Bouquet Morello. Mr. Terry claims that it is the finest variety, tak- 
ing everything into consideration, that has been raised in Iowa. It, 
together with the Russian varieties above mentioned, has light juice. 
The tree which I am now growing is a very erect grower, and gives 
evidence of great hardness and fertility. I have not fruited it. 

Among the Russians with colored juice may be mentioned the 
Spate Amarelle, Schatten Amarelle, Double Natte, Bruesler Braun, 
Brussarbian, and the Criotte du Nord. Of these, the Schatten Amer- 
elle has been grown by Mr. Hinkley, of Marcus, Cherokee county. 
Iowa, and is jjironounced by him to be hardy and prolific. The Double 
Natte has been grown by Mr. Terry and by Mr. Coleman, on the lat- 
ter's farm in Adams county, and is regarded by both as of very supe- 
rior quality. The Bruesler Braun is a fair bearer of fruit much larger 
than the Montmorency, very rich and almost sweet when thoroughly 
ripe. I regard it as a very valuable cherry for home use, and it may 
prove valuable for commercial growing. 

Among other varieties grown in the Northwest I can mention the 
Early Morello, a chance tree grown by the late David Reed in his 
orchard in Gage county, Nebraska. This cherry is a strong grower, 
and the fruit, which has light juice, rii^ens a week or ten days earlier 
than Early Richmond, and is i^ronounced by those who have grown it 
as of good quality. The Early Morello grown in the vicinity of Kan- 
sas City is a black cherry of the Morello type, imported by the late 
A, Sauer. of Rosedale, Kan., from Erfurt, Germany, about twenty years 
ago. This Early Morello has been pronounced the Black Morello, and 
is highly commended by those who have grown it, and is claimed to 
be a week earlier in ripening than the Early Richmond. 

The Ostheinier Weichsel, also an importation of Mr. Sauer, has 
been grown in the vicinity of Kansas City for twenty years, and; is 
pronounced by competent horticulturists the finest variety grown in 
that vicinity. I am inclined to think that it is from the same family 
as the Cerise d'Ostheim. I have trees of both of these varieties, as also 
of the Early Morello of Nebraska, and will be able to form an opinion 
as to their merits in the course of time. 



24 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

Cherries should be planted upon well-drained soil, such as is suit- 
able for the growing of cereal crops, in rows about twenty feet apart, 
running north and south, with the trees fifteen feet apart in the row. 
They should be cultivated from the earliest time in the spring until 
about the 1st of August, and no other crop should be grown in the 
orchard. I believe that continuous cultivation from early spring to 
late summer will produce very much better results than can be se- 
cured by seeding down the orchard to clover, although it is probable 
that benefits may be secured by sowing clover and turning the same 
under to restore nitrogen to the soil. When the trees commence to 
bear the fertility of the soil should be restored by dressing with ma- 
nure, potash, and phosphoric acid fertilizers. The trees should never 
be pruned except at the time of planting, when the roots should be 
cut back and at least two thirds of the last year's growth removed from 
the top. If cultivation is continued late in the fall, growth is contin- 
ued late in the season without maturing the wood and buds, render- 
ing winter injury thereto probable. 

The cherry will begin to bear four years after planting, and will 
bear a reasonably profitable crop at the age of six years. None of the 
varieties usually planted are long-lived. In view of the fact that cul- 
tivation has been rarely practiced in the past, I am led to hope that 
the longevity of the tree may be greatly extended by the treatment 
herejn recommended. It is my oj^inion that the greatest success in 
raising the cherry in the Northwest can be secured in the latitude of 
the south half of Iowa. I have noticed that in the vicinity of St. 
Louis the intense heat of the late fall frequently causes swelling of 
the buds, which are thereby exposed to winter injury, and understand 
that in south central Missouri this is the cause of the frequent fail- 
ure of crops. 



THE CALIFORNIA CHERRY. 

Probably no fruit grown in California is received by consumers with 
greater genuine pleasure than the cherry. The cherry is not adapted to 
all parts of the state. The portions which produce lemons and oranges 
fail to produce cherries. They require a deep sediment soil and a 
climate not too hot. ^anta Clara Valley is f»robably the largest and 
best cherry district in the state, including in this district the section 
on the east side of the bay on both sides of Haywards. Chico has 
some good cherry orchards, and the largest cherry tree in the state, so 
far as known, is on the Americaa river above Sacramento. Vacaville 
and Winters are in a section noted for shipijing very early cherries, 
the first box generally going out in April. 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 25 

Very early varieties are grown for these early shipments, such as 
the Early Purple Guigne, Belle d 'Orleans, Knight's Early Black, etc. 
These sorts are all inferior in quality to the later kinds, but being 
early command the high prices of the first market. 

The most pojDular eating cherry is the Black Tartarian, well known-. 
The Governor Wood, Yellow Spanish, Cleveland Bigarreau and others 
are rather early white cherries, all too soft for successful shipping 
or canning. Ripening about with the Black Tartarian is the Centen- 
nial, a magnificent, firm-fleshed white cherry with a flame cheek. 
Its only fault is that it cracks on very slight provocation, such as a 
shower of rain or late irrigation. Black Republican is a late black 
cherry, very firm and an excellent shipper. 

The very popular cherry of the state is the Napolean Bigarreau, or 
Royal Ann, as it is known to the trade. This is a white cherry with 
cheeks of solid color, very hard and firm, shipping well, and most 
popular with the canners. In large quantities this cherry brings the 
highest price of any sort. This cherry seems to do well in the moun- 
tains where other cherries fail. The Black Tartarian does not do well 
in the mountains, generally. 

The Bing is a cherry first noted in Oregon and giving some promise 
where introduced in California. 

On unsuitable soil the cherry tree does not flourish or bear. It 
gums, dies back, or proves barren, often to the great disappointment 
of the planter. 

The cherry is shipped to all the California cities and to southern 
California, and on to the east to Chicago, Boston, New York, Phila- 
delphia, and all important markets. 

The first box usually brings a round ten dollars, and the first few 
hundred boxes rather fancy prices, and then the price goes according 
to supply and demand, and the condition in which they are received. 
During the great railroad strike cars of cherries stood in San Jose de- 
pot for a full month well iced, and were then opened and the fruit 
sold here at fair prices. 

One of the best orchards in the state is located near San Jose, the 
property of Mrs. W. Geiger. It was planted by her husband about 
twenty years ago and has a deep sediment soil. It is thoroughly irri- 
gated in the winter or late spring and again in summer after the crop 
is off. It consists of about twelve acres, principally of the Black Tar- 
tarian and Royal Ann varieties. 

For many years it was contracted for five-year terms by a very 
popular shipper, who made much of his reputation by the good qual- 
ity of the cherries of this orchard. When the contracts expired after 
the death of Mr. Geiger they were not renewed, and the fruit was 



26 THB KANSAS CHEERY. 

shipped direct from the orchard under the management of W. R. 
Geiger, a son. Since the death of her son Mrs. Geiger has herself 
managed the orchard and directed the cultivation, harvesting, pack- 
ing and shipping with great success. 

. She has trusted help in all departments which she secures year 
after year. 

Men with long ladders, tin picking buckets and hooks gather the 
cherries from the trees. The fruit is then taken to a large packing- 
shed, and young ladies pack carefully in shallow ten-pound boxes 
with ventilated tops and sides, and a partition across the middle to 
check any movement. The fruit is all packed in straight rows and 
layers, and a neatly packed box presents a beautiful appearance when 
opened. The great fruit wagons stand under the shed, and large 
loads are taken to the cars. Sometimes more than 1000 pounds of 
cherries are gathered from a tree in this orchard. 

Cherries generally bring good prices. From four to eight cents 
per pound is about the range, and the income from a good cherry 
orchard is often from $500 to $800 and even $1000 per acre, with a 
good crop and a good market. 



PRODUCTION OF CHERRIES. 

By E. F. Wetmoee, before the East Tennessee Horticultural Society. 

We have observed that nursery catalogues state that the cherry 
will thrive and bear almost anywhere so long as it is planted uj)on 
well-drained land. We note that it makes but little difference where 
these catalogues are published; whether north, south, east or west — 
all are the same. Our opinion is that the cherry may grow almost 
anywhere, but to produce successful crops of fruit it has its prefer- 
ence of location and climate. In the extreme north the fruit-buds 
winter-kill ; while south of the latitude of Tennessee the climate is 
too warm. Even here in this state we find that in some locations they 
are not productive. This, we believe, is usually the case where they 
are planted upon heavy red clay soil. Our observation has been that 
the cherry, where planted on sandy, loamy soil, especially if somewhat 
elevated, has proved more productive one year with another than on 
heavy clay soil. 

I have a little orchard containing 360 trees, some of which have 
been planted four years, and some three years. I also have a few 
trees that have been set ten years. We have had cherries every year 
without a single exception for the past nine years, the quantity in- 
creasing each year with the growth of the trees, until last year, 1897, 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 27 

when some of the trees, planted then nine years, produced more than 
two bushels of perfect cherries, free from worms, and fit to set before 
a king. This year, 1898, the crop was not increased above that of last 
year, but instead there was a light crop, due to severe freeezes, which 
occurred on April 4 and 5. Ice formed one-half inch thick and the 
mercury stood at twenty-two degrees. Nearly all varieties of cherries 
were in full bloom, and most of the fruit was destroyed. 

To show the hardiness of cherries in comparison with other fruits, 
I will state that this freeze killed all the fruit in my peach orchard, 
and also the greater part of my apples. None of the sweet types 
stood the freeze well enough to produce fruit. I have planted in my 
test orchard the following varieties : May Duke, Large Montmorency, 
Early Richmond, Ostheim, Wragg, Large English Morello, Sudie, 
Windsor, Yellow Spanish, and Black Tartarian. The three last named 
are sweet or Bigarreau type All others bore, some trees quite full, 
while some only a few. 

My elevation is 2300 feet above sea-level, and 1200 feet above the 
Tennessee river. My soil is a sandy loam. 

They should not be trimmed too high — three to three and a half 
feet is about right. They need very little or no trimming after the 
first two or three years. Do not form a crotch or forked tree, but an 
evenly balanced head. If any of your little trees are forked, either 
cherry or any other kind of fruit-trees, when they come from the 
nursery (though they should never be), you should cut ofp one of the 
limbs, and though it may not make a pleasing sight at the time, it will 
soon balance up all right. 



THE CHERRY. 

By S. H. Linton, Marceline, Mo. 

Practical horticulturists are anxious to have all varieties of fruit 
come up to a standard. From a general view over the country, the 
cherry is crowded out by other fruits, because the cherry is less under- 
stood and therefore less appreciated. Striking a line east and west 
with the south line of Missouri and another line east and west along 
the center of Iowa, between these lines, from the Atlantic to the Pa- 
cific coasts, Morello cherries give paying crops if planted in ground 
agreeable to their nature and given proper care. There are many lo- 
calities within this area that do not jjroduce cherries sufiicient to sup- 
ply their local market. This should not be the case with progressive 
fruit men. The cherry demands a dry clay soil. They are rather deep 
rooted and great feeders, and, if given too much humus, will take up 



28 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

food faster than the tree can digest it. The result is dyspeiDsia of the 
tree, and they will soon show the disease in what is called foot-rot. 
This disease starts in the stalk at the top of the ground and goes up 
and down. It is most prevalent during warm, wet weather in late 
spring and early summer. While most fruit-trees are more or less 
liable to this disease it is the worst with the cherry. But if the cherry 
is planted on clay land with good drainage, and the tree is not crowded 
faster than the growth will nicely ripen, there will be but little trouble 
with foot-rot. The black-knot is troublesome in certain localities, but 
if care is used in not buying young trees already diseased, there is 
little fear of this trouble. The cherry is considered by some growers 
to be short-lived. Even if this be so, there are good profits in grow- 
ing the cherry if it does not live over ten years. I know cherry orchards 
that have been in regular bearing ten to fifteen years, and still bid fair 
to produce many good crops yet. 

As to varieties for profit, this depends upon the locality, but for the 
extreme east and west * of area given, the Duke and Morello, or the 
family of sour cherries, can only be successfully grown. Sweet cher- 
ries are more adapted to favorable localities in the mountain regions 
and further south. Horticulturists would be truly glad if sweet cher- 
ries could be successfully grown and fruited everywhere. Fruit-grow-^ 
ers should encourage planting more of the cherry. 



NOTES ON CHERRY CULTURE. 

By S. H. Linton, Marceline, Mo. 

The cherry fills a gap in the fruit supply that no other fruit can 
well take, in season or the culinary, the mild subacid flavor, toned 
with a peculiar agreeableness to the appetite, with a tonic so much 
desired to cool burning thirst during the hot summer days. 

Cherries are divided into two families or groups, the Heart and 
Bigarreau, or the family of the sweet cherry. This includes all the 
white, yellow and some of the red and black varieties ; all are very 
rich and high flavored. The Duke and Morello families include the 
more acid varieties. 

There are few more useful trees than the cherry. It may be 
planted as an ornamental tree, lining streets or avenues, giving touch 
to the beautiful in early spring, with its banks of snow white bloom, 
after which the tree soon changes to red, like the "fiery bush "of old, 
enticing all to come and partake of its bountiful supply of luscious 
fruit. 

♦"Extreme east and west of area given" moans on either coast, wliere sweet cherries grow 
in abundance. — Sec. 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 29 

The cherry can be grown successfully on any clay soil with a well- 
drained subsoil, and if mixed with gravel or shale is all the better. 
For a family supply it may be planted in the yard or lawn, in which 
case the ground should be worked around the trees as much as three 
or four feet the first two seasons after planting to keep down the 
growth of grass and weeds. This method is much preferred to mulch- 
ing, as mulching adds humus, which stimulates growth faster than it 
ican ripen its wood. 

For a commercial purpose, the location should be selected with two 
points in view — first, that the entire plat is well drained; second, that 
the soil is not too full of humus, with a north and east exposure, and 
a west and north protection. In the absence of natural j)rotection, 
plant evergreens or some spreading native forest-trees. Plow deep 
and harrow smooth. Mark off accurately, so as to j^lace the trees 
twenty feet apart each way. If the surface of the land be level, plow 
with a back land for each row. Dig holes wide and deep enough to 
receive the roots without twisting or bending. Have the trees trenched 
handy, taking out a few, protecting the roots as taken out. Cut back 
all mutilated roots to sound live wood with a sharp knife; incline the 
stalk ten to fifteen degrees to the southwest. Set deep enough to 
bring the budded junction two to three inches under the level of the 
ground. Fill in with well-pulverized soil, sprinkling on and through 
the roots. If the dirt is pitched in, a shovelful at a time, it will clog 
on top of the roots, leaving space underneath without any. Pack or 
settle the dirt as filled in until the roots are well covered, when the 
packing should be done with the foot, giving weight and force until 
satisfied that there are no air spaces left. Finish the filling with loose 
dirt on top without tramping ; this will prevent the soil from baking 
and cracking. After the planting go over the entire tree cutting off 
broken limbs, but no other cutting should be done. If possible, be- 
fore a rain, the cultivator should be run through the orchard, loosen- 
ing up the ground that has necessarily been tramped and packed in 
planting. 

If the ground is fertile the orchard may be planted to corn, pota- 
toes or any hoed or cultivated crop for first two seasons, and if over- 
fertile crops should be grown up to the fourth season, when the 
ground can be sown to clover or left to grow in weeds. In either case 
the clover or weeds should be mowed from middle to last of June and 
again from middle to last of August, and in both cases left on the 
ground. No pruning is required, except to cut out dead or broken 
limbs, and the best time to do this 'is at the moment you find the limb 
dead or broken. 

If planted twenty feet each way it takes 110 trees to the acre. The 
average yield of a cherry tree at five years old is nine gallons ; which, 



30 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

at twenty-five cents per gallon would bring in round numbers, $247.50 
per acre. If planted on suitable ground, and given proper care, a 
cherry orchard can be depended upon for annual crops for ten to fif- 
teen years. 



CHARACTEE OF SOILS, LOCATION AND VARIETIES FOR 
A CHERRY ORCHARD. 

By J. J. KiSEE, Stanberry, Mo. 

The character of the soil in northwest Missouri, for which alone 
I can speak, is preeminently a fruit soil; our subsoil — a deep stratum 
of from twenty to forty feet of porous joint-clay — can only be equaled 
if excelled by that formation known as the Missouri river bluff or 
loess formation. This joint-clay is in reality a soil in which, if 
brought to sunlight and properly aerated, will grow the finegt plants. 
Add too and over this a layer of from six inches to six feet of vegeta- 
ble decomposition, mixed with drift soils and sand, for ages forming 
a loam in which is every element of plant structure. The cherry tree 
will not live with its feet in standing water, neither ought anything 
but a willow be planted in such a place. My best growing and bear- 
ing trees are on the north side of the top of a small elevation, hardly 
to be called a hill, though trees are doing well on the south side of 
the same. Trees set near an artificial pond so that the high-water 
mark is on a level with the roots of trees, are dead or stunted ; while 
plum trees in the same situation show very little if any damage. The 
largest and finest specimens of cherry trees the writer ever saw were 
planted along the upper sides of cuts in roadways and along terraces 
on mountains and hillsides in Switzerland — trees over two feet in 
diameter that looked as though they might be a century old. 

Varieties. — I approach this part of my subject with some degree 
of hesitation. Differences of soil, climate, and even the markets, may 
modify the choice of varieties. One of my earliest recollections is a 
large cherry tree that stood near the homestead in the old "fatherland." 
How well I remember watching the first burst of bloom in the spring, 
the development of the fruit, even the counting of the specimens that 
some day I might reach, the seemingly slow growth, and then, one 
morning the red tinge on a few of them — how slowly they ripened. 
Yes, I will confess to putting some of them into my mouth without 
picking them from the tree — I believe I can taste them yet — and when 
they did get ripe, great, big, lusciously sweet ; they were such as I never 
expect to see again, for they will not grow in this climate. When I 
tasted my first cherries this side the Atlantic I thought, oh ! how is it 
possible to like such sour things ? 



THE KANSAS CHERRY, 31 

When in Kansas City a few years ago I bought a box of California 
sweets ( ? ) ; small affairs they were, but I took them in haste to get 
once more a realization of my youthful memory. I tried one, two ; in 
surprise I looked at the rest. They all looked alike. Tried another ; 
found that all three tasted alike, and in disgust I consigned the whole 
lot to the gutter. 

But let no one understand that I do n't like cherries, even such as 
we grow in abundance in northwest Missouri. In getting my allegi- 
ance Americanized I have also got my cherry taste adjusted, and to-day 
I vote the American cherry a grand success. Fully ripe, they are 
good to eat ; mixed with sweet apples, or any kind, for that matter, and 
sweetened to taste, they make the best pie on earth. 

For a market cherry I would place the English Morello at the top 
of the list. True it went to wholesale destruction last winter ; but are 
we going to quit planting all the kinds of fruit that were injured by 
that outlandish performance the weather clerk put on the program 
last winter ? I think we will discharge him and the next one may 
take due notice and govern himself accordingly. Last winter has 
been called by some a test winter, but I do n't understand it so. It is 
not to be expected that so many adverse circumstances and conditions 
will get up another such a combination in the next century. 

The next best and very best for home and near-by market is Early 
Richmond. It must be used soon after picking. A neighbor told me 
that in canning they had mixed them with one-half strawberries, to 
the great improvement of both, the combination keeping well, when 
they had had trouble in keeping strawberries ; that it gives a body 
and substance to that watery fruit that makes it much better. A few 
years ago I could not sell Early Richmond in my market. Nothing 
would do but English Morello. Yet to-day people have learned that 
the Early Richmond is much the better cherry and the demand has 
increased beyond the supply. 

Montmorency Ordinaire, Suda Hardy and Ostheimer have gone to 
the happy hunting-grounds along with English Morello and some 
semi-sweets. True they are not all dead, but all more or less damaged ; 
being late, they grew too late, and were not matured to withstand the 
shock. Dyehouse wintered well and bore a small crop ; it does not 
bear as young as Early Richmond ; may do better later. I can see very 
little difference in fruit, though the trees grow more stocky. Wragg 
has stood the weather finely ; it is small, sour, bitter, and puckery ; even 
sugar fails to make it eatable ; not adapted to my situation and I shall 
grub it out. It is the true Wragg, as I got it from the Wragg nursery 

However, the best variety that has ever come under my observation 
in this country is one tree that stands in the yard of S. Chamberlain, 



32 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

in the city of Stanberry, Mo. For years it has yielded its full crops 
of large cherries, pleasing to the eye and good to the taste, milder yet 
than Early Richmond and more than twice as large, with smaller pit. 
It stood last winter without damage and bore a full crop this year. 



PRUNING, PLANTING, CULTIVATING, GATHERING AND 
MARKETING THE CHERRY. 

By W. H. Skinnee, Bethany, Mo. 

I shall briefly outline the work on the cherry tree, from the time it 
reaches the premises of the orchardist until its matured fruit is placed 
in the hands of the consumer, and in the beginning will say that my 
experience in i^lanting cherries has not been as satisfactory as in plant- 
ing other kinds of trees, for my losses in planting my cherry orchard 
of 450 trees has been more than double what I have lost in planting 
over 2000 other orchard trees. But this I attribute largely to the 
condition of the trees when received. I believe that if I could get 
cherry trees that were dug, and immediately shipped, instead of being 
cellared over winter, there would be less failure to grow, as cherry 
trees of my own propagation dug and immediately planted have had 
no loss. 

Cherries should be planted in this part of the country only in the 
spring, as our cold, dry winter winds have a tendency to extract the 
moisture from the tree, and the roots being short, with but little sur- 
face to absorb moisture, the tree is very liable to die back partly, if 
not entirely, during the winter. They should be planted in the spring, 
as early as the ground is fit to plow, and if possible before the buds 
begin to swell. They may be planted even after the buds begin to 
burst, but I have noticed that the earlier planted trees are more liable 
to live and make the better growth. 

The cherry will grow on almost any kind of soil except a very wet 
one, but does best in a good sandy clay loam with gravelly subsoil. 
This seems to furnish the necessary drainage and sustenance to pro- 
duce the hardiest tree and best fruit. Before planting the ground 
should be deeply and thoroughly plowed and pulverized. The roots 
of the trees where cut or broken in digging should be smoothly cut, 
and the hole in which the trees are planted should be large enough 
to admit the roots without bending; if it were possible to plow that 
deep, the hole should not be deeper than the ground is plowed, 
although I believe that cherries should be planted deeper than apples 
or pears. The roots should be puddled in soft mud before setting 
the tree in its place ; the tree should be planted so deeply that the 
bud or graft is at least two inches below the surface when the hole is 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 33 

filled. The bole should be filled with fine mellow earth, carefully packed 
and tramped until the roots are well covered, and the earth should 
then be j)iled up a little to allow for settling, but the upper two or 
three inches should not be packed. Greater care is required in plant- 
ing the cherry than any other variety of fruit I have ever tried. 

1 do but little pruning at time of planting ; I prefer to plant small 
trees that need no pruning. In March of the following year the trees 
should be gone over and pruned to shape the head; clip in the ends 
of the long shoots, keep the lieads round, in the case of trees that grow 
like the Richmond, or conical with trees of more uijright growth, and 
if the branches have not started thick enough to make a good liead, 
cut back heavy enough to make them thicker, the aim being to shape 
the head as near as possible to the shape of some well-grown tree of 
the variety. The following March, when the trees are two years 
planted, they should again be gone over and jpruned with the same 
end in view, that is, to make a well-shaped head, cutting out cross- 
limbs, heading back too rampant growing branches; and where a 
branch crooks or grows in a wrong direction it can usually be reme- 
died, if taken in time, by cutting back to a bud that will start and 
carry its growth in the right direction. The third year the same 
treatment should be given, after which but little pruning will be 
needed, except to remove dead limbs, but these should not and, with 
proper treatment, will not be abundant for many years. In pruning 
the cherry, like all other trees, no fixed rule can be made that will 
apply to all, as no two trees are exactly alike ; but the cherry being 
one of the most perverse of all fruit-trees, it is best for the pruner to 
have a well-grown, full-sized specimen of the variety he is pruning in 
his mind; this gives him the natural shape of the tree, and he should 
so train his young sprout as to cause it to assume its natural shape 
and make a well-formed tree of its kind. 

One of our modern horticulturists has said that the shape of the 
tree makes little difference with its bearing qualities and that each 
grower may form his own ideal shape of tree, and prune accordingly ; 
but in pruning the cherry I would suggest that the pruner should 
have many ideals, as it is much more easy to make an ideal to fit a 
particular tree than it is to make all cherry trees grow to fit a parti- 
cular ideal. No man should undertake to prune and shape the head 
of any young tree until he has studied the bud arrangement and grow- 
ing characteristics of the family of trees to which it belongs, as the 
shaping of the top depends materially on the position of the upper 
bud left after the branch is clipped ; and in shaping the heads of 
young trees particular attention should be given that the cut is made 



34 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

SO as to leave the upper bad in a position to start the new branch off 
in the right direction. 

After planting comes cultivation, and this should begin immedi- 
ately, and should be thorough, going over with a smoothing harrow 
or some other shallow working tool so as to loosen the ground which 
has become more or less packed by tramping while the planting was 
being done ; again pulverizing two or three inches of the top soil, 
thus making a dust mulch to retain the moisture ; this cultivation 
should continue during the summer to keep a dust mulch and keep 
down the weeds. The number of times it will be needed depends 
somewhat on the season and the perseverance of the weeds. The 
cultivation the second and following seasons should be the same as 
the first, except that the first cultivation should be with a tool going 
deeper than a smoothing harrow, such as a cultivator or spring-tooth 
harrow ; about the fourth year the orchard should be sown to clover 
and left to grow during the fifth year, mowing it two or three times 
and leaving the clover on the ground to keep up the humus ; and this 
will also have a tendency to check growth and bring the trees into 
bearing. About the last of May (or perhaps earlier) of the sixth year 
the clover should be turned under by a shallow plowing, after which 
the cultivation should be kept up witli the harrow. 

Included with the cultivation and pruning of the cherry orchard 
should also be considered its care, and whether you class it with the 
cultivation or with the care makes little difference ; but the careful 
spraying of the cherry is one of the requisites that cannot and must 
not be overlooked to secure success and keep healthy trees. The leaf 
spot and powdery mildew are the great enemies of the cherry in this 
country, and without being in some way prevented are likely to wake 
up the orchardist some fine spring morning to a knowledge that his 
cherry trees are all dead. The great loss of cherry trees throughout the 
Northwest last winter, I am satisfied, was more from these diseases 
than from the extreme cold of February, 1899. By the middle of 
August, 1898, many of the bearing cherry trees had lost all their leaves 
from these diseases. The warm, damp weather of September started 
a new growth ; many trees put out new leaves and some were in bloom, 
the sap was up ; they were in full growth when the snow and hard freeze 
came, on October 17 and 18, and were killed then. If these trees had 
been thoroughly sprayed with the fifty-gallon formula Bordeaux mix- 
ture when the blossoms fell off, and again as soon as the fruit was 
gathered, the leaves would have held on until killed by frost, the trees 
would not have been growing in October, and would not have been 
injured by the cold. I did not lose a single sour cherry tree last 
winter. 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 35 

■ And now we come to the time of most interest to the cherry grower 

— the gathering and marketing — in which, especially the latter, I have 
had but little experience, as my orchard is just beginning to bear. 
But as I hare given some thought and attention to this part of it, and 
have read everything on the subject I could find, so as to know what 
to do when I get a crop, I will give an outline of my gleanings from 
others. 

The cherry should not be gathered until fully ripe and then only 
when it is dry, as, if it is gathered when wet or even damp from rain 
or dew, it will quickly spoil. In all cases the fruit should be care- 
fully handled, and the stem should be left attached to the fruit, as the 
removal of the stem from the fruit will break the skin, allow the juice 
to ran out, and quickly injure the fruit. All defective berries should 
be thrown out, as they will injure the sale of the remaining fruit, and 
at this time it pays to pack only the best fruit and to put it up in a 
manner that will be attractive, as there is about as much in the pack- 
ing of the fruit toward selling it as in the fruit itself, perhaps more. 
Cherries should be packed in small shallow boxes or baskets, which in 
no case should hold over one gallon, and handled so that they will not 
bruise or mash. As to the marketing of cherries away from home, all 
the questions of freight charges, commissions and commission men, 
and of markets, applicable to other fruits, apply to cherries. I have 
given this but little thought, for the reason that our home market has 
never been half supplied with cherries, and I believe that it will be 
many years before I shall have to go away from home to find a mar- 
ket for my cherries. 

WILL IT PAY TO PLANT CHERRIES? 

By G. W. Hopkins, Springfield, Mo. 

Most every one in starting a new place will set out a few trees, but 
orchards exclusively of cherries are few and far between. There 
seems to be only two varieties that are worth planting in this locality 

— the Early Richmond and English Morello. The Montmorency, it 
is said, does well, but few have fruited it. 

Sweet cherries are not worth planting here, as they are very tender 
in the bud, and jDOSsibly one year in ten they may not be killed. If 
they are not killed in the winter or early spring, when they begin to 
ripen, the rains will crack the fruit and the birds destroy the crop. 
The curculio is very destructive to the cherry. 

There is no question but cherries will pay well in south Missouri 
if there was any certainty of a crop. The Early Richmond comes in 
before strawberries are gone, and we have the whole southern country 



36 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

for a market. Three years ago I shipped Early Richmond to Mem- 
phis, some of which sold as high as $3.50 per crate. 

Of course there is big money in this, but I have not sold a cherry 
since. Now, there may be some sheltered places in south Missouri 
where the climatic changes are not so sudden, that cherries may be 
grown with profit. To those living in such favored places I would 
say, plant cherries. But after thirteen years of experience and obser- 
vation in the vicinity of Springfield, I would say it would be rather 
hazardous to plant orchards of cherries for commercial purposes, un- 
less we could have assurance that the climate and seasons would 
change for the better. 

DISCUSSION, 

Major Holsinger. — I have several thousand cherries in bearing and have 
made more money from the cherry than from any other fruit. I favor the Mont- 
morency and if I had to forego any kind it would not be the Wragg. I think 
the Wragg is better than the Early Richmond. For four kinds, I would take 
Early Richmond, Montmorency, English Morello, and Wragg. These four make 
fruit through the season. The Wragg I have were propagated in Alabama, but 
is the same as the Iowa Wragg. My cherry trees planted in 1876 have paid well. 
We are burning them this winter for firewood. The first acre of these cherry 
trees I planted made $500 per acre each year it was in bearing. If the others 
will last as long and pay as well I will be well pleased. Some of our cherry trees 
die in full leaf. I do n't understand the cause. 

L. A. Goodman. — Of all the fruit I have grown at Westport the cherry has 
paid me best. Ten or twelve dollars per tree per year is not an uncommon yield. 
They should be planted in the proper soil and given the best cultivation for four 
years ; after that time the tougher the grass sod the better. Not for sixteen 
years has the grass been broken. The roots are sensitive to being broken. When 
they are cut they begin to decay. The soil must be dry and not underlaid with 
hard-pan. 

Question. — "What is the best stock for the cherry?" The discussion showed 
the Mahaleb to be the stock in common use. Mr. Callaway, of Illinois, said the 
common Morello was the best [stock]. Mr. Kiser saved his cherries by plant- 
ing plenty of Russian mulberries for the birds ; they much preferred the sweet 
little berries to the sour cherries. His loss from birds was nothing in his cherry 
orchard. 

Question.. — " Is clover a good crop for a cherry orchard four years old ? And 
would you let it stand or cultivate alternate years ?" 

L. A. Goodman. — Clover is good. I would never cultivate after four years. 

J. M. Irvine. — At the last meeting of the Buchanan County Horticultural So- 
ciety we discussed the cherry. It was said to be the most profitable fruit. Some 
are growing Dyehouse instead of Early Richmond. It is sometimes earlier and 
always as early as the Richmond. Montmorency, English Morello and Wragg 
are also grown. 

J. E. May. — Is there any difference between the Large Montmorency and 
Montmorency Ordinaire ? 

Major Holsinger. — None whatever. 

Mr. Baxter. — Mazzard stocks sometimes do better than those on Mahaleb 
stocks. 

Mr. Butterfield. — The Mazzard sprouts. 

Mr. Baxter. — Morello is the best stock for the cherry. 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 37 



CHERRIES FOR PROFIT. 

By J. P. SiNNOCK, Moberly, Mo. 

Cherries are something the birds like very much; children also eat 
them with great relish. When a boy, I remember the old cherry 
orchard of Morellos, sprouting in every fence comer on my father's 
farm. 

In those days we never thought of selling cherries. They were 
very plentiful, and the birds had great feasts among the branches; the 
neighbors also received a great many. 

The cherry is propagated by budding on the Mahaleb or Mazzard 
stocks, which are mostly imported from Europe, planted in the 
nursery rows, and budded in the following September. The buds take 
readily on Mahaleb when worked in September. We always use. 
Mahaleb on account of its late growth in the fall, and it never sprouts 
from the roots. 

There is no work in the nursery that I like better than growing the 
cherry. Jn these days we grow cherries for profit. If you want to 
plant a cberry orchard, select a nice rolling piece of land and plow 
deep about the last of September or the first of October. They will 
do no good in wet soil. Then select your trees from the nearest re- 
liable niirseryman. Buy nothing but good, No. 1, one- or two-year- 
old trees — one year is preferred. Buy those budded on Mahaleb 
stock and you will not be bothered with sprouts. 

Select for early fruit, the Early Richmond; medium, Late Duke; and 
for late, the English Morello. Lay off the land about sixteen feet each 
way; begin planting early in November. In about three years you 
can begin picking the fruit. Cherry trees have many advantages over 
apple and pear; rabbits or borers scarcely ever bother them, and the 
fruit comes at a time of the year when little other fruit is on the 
market. 

An advantage with the cherry is, you can let them hang on the 
trees for a week or more after they are ripe ; this gives you plenty of 
time to find a market. You can always iind a good market at Omaha 
or Des Moines, if you cannot at some of your near-by towns, for a large 
({uantity of them at a fair price. 

The tree needs but little pruning. Start the head two and a half 
to three feet high. Keep all broken and dead limbs cut out. Grow 
potatoes or melons for two or three years and then you can sow clover 
and plow it under to stimulate the ground. 

Pick your cherries with the stems on and put them in quart boxes 
or baskets, and you will be surprised at the way they sell and the 
amount 1000 trees will bring you. I have seen the fruit from a single 



38 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

tree bring ten dollars. My neighbor has eight or nine acres of cherry 
orchard, four years old, which brought him seventy-five dollars an 
acre last year. We need more cherries. Plant enough to ship in car 
lots, like we do peaches and apples. We ought to plant a variety of 
fruit. 

The cherry will fruit as often and bring as much money and pay 
for itself before the apple begins to bear. When a man talks of 
planting an orchard, saying: "If it did not take so long for an apple 
orchard to bear I would plant it," I tell him to plant apples, and also 
ten acres of cherries to bring money to grow the apple orchard. In 
planting orchards, if we would pay more attention to cherries, pears 
and peaches, when the apple crop fails the fruit-grower would have 
more money. [Good!] 

There are many varieties hardly worth planting. The Hearts and 
Bigarreau varieties will do but little good, as they are usually short- 
lived and bear but little, and are so good the birds get them all. The 
Dukes and Morellos are so sour the birds will not bother them if you 
will plant a few Russian mulberries along the fences. The English 
Morello bears like the Ben Davis apple.- You can stand on the ground 
and pick most of the fruit and not bother with ladders, and it never 
dies in debt to you. 

We have a neighbor planting a 200-acre orchard. He is planting 
5000 cherries and 5000 peaches. I think if more of our fruit-growers 
would plant cherries, peaches, and pears, as well as apples, they would 
have fruit to sell every year, and their bank account would hold up 
better from one apple crop to the next one. 



THE CHERRY. 

A paper by J. F. Cecil, Topeka, Kan., read before the Sbawnec County Horticultural Society. 

The growing of cherries in our section of the state is, so far as I 
am aware, limited to two or three varieties of the sour class. If any 
one has succeeded in getting a sweet cherry tree into profitable bear- 
ing in Shawnee county I have not heard of it. The first obstacle met 
with in the attempt is the bursting of the bark, which comes from the 
inadaptation of the tree to the soil and climate. I believe that suc- 
cessful crops have only been obtained from Early Richmond and 
English Morello, with many hopeful plantings of the Montmorency. 
The Early Richmond is the earliest, and a hardy, productive tree. 
Its fruit is usually more free of the curculio, and comes so early that 
it is seldom harmed by drought. Its fruit is small to medium in size, 
unless grown under very favorable circumstances. It is the most 
popular variety in the[,West ; as many trees of this variety are planted 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 39 

as of all others combined. English Morello makes a small, bushy 
tree, is an early and abundant bearer, not capable of withstanding as 
low temperature as the Richmond or Montmorency, but is less suscep- 
tible to bark-bursting during a long period of drought. It is very sub- 
ject to leaf-blight, and easily succumbs to the ill effects of excessive 
moisture. Fruit medium to large in size, roundish in form, in color 
almost black when fully ripe, flesh very dark and sour ; regarded by 
some as a good canner. Begin to ripen from the middle to the last 
of June. 

Montmorency is a very large, light-red, long-stemmed cherry, flat- 
tened on the ends, flesh more solid than in the Richmond, and of 
about the same flavor. The tree is a strong, erect and symmetrical 
grower, and, all points considered, it is with me the hardiest of all. 
I have found young trees unproductive ; but Mr. Bailey, of Cornell, 
claims it to be a bearer of great crops of fruit, even outdoing the En- 
glish Morello when in full bearing, which is a year or two later than 
that variety. He refers to a Mr. Scoon, who considered a crop of 
eight to ten tons a good one from his 800 trees, and, selling at five 
cents a pound, brings $1 per tree or $130 per acre from trees set eight 
years. Mr. Bailey thinks this a very conservative estimate. Another 
case is cited : Mr. Kean, of Seneca, has 200 Montmorency six years 
set; has had three crops, one of 1400, one of 3000 and one of 3100 
pounds, and, at five cents, means |375 for the three crops. His trees 
are set 10x12 feet, which allows 360 trees to the acre; this means 
that $375 was taken from a little more than a half-acre in three years. 
Another experience : A Mr. Perkins, with thirty-five trees, eight and 
twelve years old, yields from $100 to $175 a year. All of this is en- 
couraging to me, for, up to this time, my experience led me to con- 
clude that unproductiveness was its only weak point. 

Ostheim is of about the character in tree and fruit as the English 
Morello, probably less acid, and may become more poi3ular when 
known, but is not very extensively planted at present. Louis Philippe 
is considered valuable by some growers in the East and has some 
good points to recommend it for trial by Western growers. A few 
trees of the Late Duke in my neighborhood have given their owners 
pleasure and profit. My own profits in cherry growing have come 
from the English Morello. I had 150 yearling trees set in the spring 
of 1888, 10x15 feet, among raspberry i^lants set two years before. In 
1891 we picked the first fruit for market, which was thirty-one cases, 
and sold for $46.50. Our best crops were had in 1895, 1896. and 1897. 
The crop of 1895 was 128 cases, and sold for $228.43. These trees 
occupied 22,500 square feet — a few feet over one-half an acre. Up 
to 1891 we were receiving paying crops of raspberries. 



40 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

In selecting a site for an orchard, care should be had to get a piece 
of deep loamy soil, free from stagnant moisture ; it should be well 
drained, either naturally or otherwise. No fruit plants, unless it be 
the grape or peach, will so quickly or effectually protest againt the 
presence of excessive moisture as the cherry. Deep plowing and 
thorough after-preparation are very essential. Lay the rows twenty 
feet apart and set the trees twenty feet apart in the row. My first ex- 
perience was with trees set 10x15 feet, which I found to be entirely 
too close; a later planting was made in setting 16|x20 feet, and this 
also is too close for Early Richmond and Montmorency, but jDrobably 
sufficient for English Morello. Two-year-old trees are usually chosen. 
But I am of the opinion that a closer and better acquaintance with 
young trees would lead to a general planting of one-year-olds. It is 
true that a little care and training would be transferred from the 
nurseryman to the orohardist, but this will be compensated for by an 
earlier establishment and fewer losses in transplanting. 

When planting one-year-old trees they should be trimmed to a 
single stem, being careful to rub oft' all superfluous shoots as they 
appear, locating the head as desired, and cherry trees should be low- 
headed. The pruning in after-years should consist of cutting out 
such branches as interlock, and the successful orchardist will sooner 
or later recognize the fact that the cherry tree will resent any unnec- 
essary mutilation by a decline in vigor and early decay. Cultivation 
should begin early in the spring, after planting. Such crops as straw- 
berries and raspberries may be cultivated in the orchard for three or 
four years. But where this is practiced the loss to the soil should be 
repaired by applying suitable fertilizers. These should not be too rich 
in nitrogen but have a large percentage of potash and phosphoric 
acid. A much better crop for the orchard is soy-beans or cow-peas ; 
in every case it is necessary to keep plenty of fiber in the soil. After 
the third or fourth year 'no other crop should be allowed in the or- 
chard, and shallow and thorough cultivation should be commenced 
early in the season and continued until the fruit is harvested, after 
which a cover crop should be sowed. I am thoroughly convinced 
that orchard cultivation should include a cover crop. Indeed, I find 
that on slope lands it is impossible to cultivate orchards without the 
aid of cover crops to prevent great losses by washing. 

All will concede that most if not all of our fruit plants should re- 
ceive their cultivation in early spring, and that late tillage in most cases 
means a late growth that will endanger the succeeding crop, if not the 
life of the plant. Thus we find it convenient and necessary to sow 
a cover crop. A variety of plants may be used for such crop, such as 
cow-peas, oats, sorghum, millet, buckwheat and, if the soil is inclined 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 41 

to be too wet in seasons of excessive rainfall, rye or winter wheat may 
be used to take up some of the excess by growth in the spring, care 
being taken to plow under in time to check any undue loss of mois- 
ture by allowing to grow too late. The curculio is the insect that has 
destroyed some crops of this fruit and is about the only pest it has. 
In some seasons it becomes a scourge, and jarring onto sheets and 
destroying it is a})out the only remedy. Leaf-blight with me has not 
been serious except in very wet seasons and I am very sure that it can 
be held in check or entirely prevented by thorough spraying with 
Bordeaux mixture. I have been able to hold the leaves on nursery 
trees until late in the season by its use when unsprayed trees in the 
immediate vicinity were entirely denuded, but the applications were 
made at the time the fruit was ripening and a little earlier ; this would 
prevent its use in the orchard. I have thought that early spraying 
for several successive seasons would tone up the trees and carry them 
through the season unharmed. 

Two or three pickings are sufficient to go over the Early Richmond 
and Montmorency, but the English Morello should have more fre- 
quent attention to get the fruit into market at its best. I have mar- 
keted all of my fruit in twenty-four-quart cases and paid the pickers 
from one to one and one-fourth cents per quart, the condition of the 
crop regulating the price. Some growers use ten- and twenty-pound 
baskets for marketing, which may do for a near-by market. 



' THE CHERRY. 

A paper by J. W. Johnson, read before the Allen County Horticultural Society February 9, 1900. 

The cherry is no longer considered simply as a luxury, but as a 
staple fruit, and few of our orchard products can be served in more 
varied or tempting forms. But few seem to give it more than a small 
place in their orchard, many giving it far too little thought. Mr. 
Wellhouse, in talking of ''Apples for Profit," said he plants but few 
varieties, and these well known as adapted to climate, seasons, and 
the market upon which he depends for profits. These are essential 
in the cherry orchard for profit and also for home consumption, and 
should be incorporated in our plans. 

Our suggestions to one contemplating the setting of a cherry or- 
chard for the money profits are to keep in mind these points : Soils 
adapted to the cherry ; care in setting and culture ; varieties adapted 
to your locality ; the succession you desire ; and the market you can 
reasonably hope to find. 

As to the soil, Downing says that "a sandy or gravelly soil is the 



42 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

cherry's favorite home"; therefore good drainage should be one espe- 
cial point needing attention where a compact subsoil is known to ex- 
ist near the surface, as the cherry is a shallow-rooted tree, and too 
much moisture about the fibrous roots when the trees are small will 
greatly lessen the prospects of a vigorous growth. A. N. Swigart, of 
lola, suggests the digging of one or more trenches to lead the surplus 
moisture away from the trees while young, as all trees in this climate 
that are budded on to the French Mahaleb roots are hard to get started, 
but if carefully set, cultivated, mulched, watered and protected from 
surplus water during the first year are usually safe and profitable, and 
are always non-sprouters — the latter characteristic being a very im- 
portant one. 

Of varieties, we shall mention only those that have been found 
worthy and proven their merits in the experiences of our members 
.and neighbors. There are three primary varieties that have a part in 
subject, viz., Dukes, Morellos, and sweet or Bigarreaus. Of these 
the first two are sour, and they have many crosses and do well in our 
county. Of our succession, the first would be the Dyehouse, which 
ripens in June ; the Early Richmond, a very popular and rich variety, 
a week later ; then Olivet, one of the Morello family, but not so tart 
as its parents; next Montmorency, of which there seems to be two 
kinds, early and late. Of the early, Mr. Grosbeck planted four trees 
in lola ; they were well cared for while young, and now annually pro- 
duce five dollars' worth of cherries per tree, and one year doubled 
that yield, we are informed. The fruit is large, rich, and ripens in 
June. English Morello should not be omitted, as it seldom fails to 
bear a full crop here ; but care should be exercised to select your trees 
from a good kind of the many Morellos. They are a good cherry for 
shipping, ripening in August, but will sprout upon the slightest 
provocation. We have not found the sweet varieties profitable here, 
and do not advise their culture for profit, but for variety, a few in 
especially favored localities. Of these Governor Wood has proven 
the favorite in our locality. It is a cross between the Morello and 
Bigarreau, in which the former shows in the form of the tree and 
leaf, but the fruit is a true Bigarreau, except it is of a lighter color. 
Some scientists claim that our climatic conditions are undergoing a 
change, and that our fruits are affected less by the drying winds, and 
that our moisture supply is more sure, which, if true, may give the 
sweet cherry a hope for success ; but of that we cannot now advise. 

As to pruning, the cherry should have a symmetrical top started 
by the judicious grower, and then he should stand back to watch its 
development and guard it from the youngsters. We are told that in 
Europe the cherry is planted along the roadside, and cared for and 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 43 

protected by law, and that the fruit is used by the public. We think 
the latter part of this arrangement is fully understood by the young 
American. His by-laws may not be very explicit, but he very promptly 
incorporates this fruit as a part of his constitution. 

Regarding the market, the outlook for a large and brisk demand, 
unsupplied by home growers, is most promising just now for enter- 
prising and wide-awake producers to secure. 



THE CHERRY. 

By B. F. Smith, Lawrence, Kan. 

The cherry commonly known in this country originated in Asia. 
One of the old historians says it was first brought to Italy by Lu- 
cullus after his victory over Mithridates, seventy-four years before 
Christ. Pliny repeats a tradition that it was brought to Rome from 
Syria. Cherries were extensively grown by the Romans, and it is 
supposed they introduced them into Britain in the third century. 
While its history is somewhat enveloped in the fog and darkness of 
past ages, still we are led to believe that the genesis of the cherry was 
in the garden of Eden, where doubtless the apple, pear, peach and 
quince had their origin. 

Some authors make four classes, but really there are only two 
classes, sour and sweet cherries. The Hearts and Bigarreaus are 
sweet. Trees of the sweet sorts are lofty and rapid growers, with large 
leaves. The Dukes and Morellos are slow growers, forming low, 
spreading trees ; dark green narrow leaves, and acid or subacid fruit. 
Sweet cherries are adapted to dessert, and are cooling and refreshing 
when fresh from the trees. The Dukes and Morellos are too sour for 
dessert, yet they are most valuable in the North for canning and com- 
mercial use. 

The cherry does best on moderately dry soil, yet it will thrive on 
almost any soil where corn and the cereals grow. Some varieties suc- 
ceed as far north as Norway, sixty-three degrees north latitude. In 
some parts of Germany the public roads are lined with cherry trees 
for many miles. 

A few kinds are true to the parent and can be raised from the seed, 
but the most valuable varieties usually have no meat in the seed. 
Oood seedlings averaging eighteen inches high may be transplanted 
from the seed-bed when a year old, and if well cultivated may be 
budded the same season. Where the buds fail, grafting may be done 
the following spring. 

The cherry orchard should be well cultivated for at least four years. 



44 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

or until the trees have borne one or two crops of fruit, after which the 
cherry orchard may be seeded to clover or blue-grass. 

In some localities the sweet or Heart cherries are failures as a com- 
mercial product. Yet a few of these may be planted for ornamental 
purposes. Then, should there come a favorable season, maturing the 
fruit, they will be found pleasing and profitable." The best of the sweet 
sorts are Black Tartarian, Napoleon, Windsor, Governor Wood, and 
Black Eagle. 

For all commercial traffic and home consumption acid cherries are 
in great demand, and they are being more largely planted for profit 
than sweet cherries. In the selection of a list of sour cherries for 
market, the time of ripening is an important feature. Early sorts 
come in about the second week of strawberry picking; hence they do 
not sell as well as the later kinds. Therefore the writer would not 
favor the planting of the Early Richmond for market purposes. 

Tlie best selling cherries are Ostheim, Montmorency, English Mo- 
rello and Louis Philippe. Fruit of the Montmorency is light red, flesh 
nearly colorless. It is largely grown in some localities for canning. 
The fruit of Louis Philippe is dark red, flesh same color and fine 
quality. English Morello ripens two weeks later than Montmorency;, 
fruit is a dark red, nearly black when ripe; flesh dark red and very 
sour; tree is a slow grower but begins to bear when two or three years 
old. It is a favorite with canning factories. The Ostheim rij^ens 
soon after Early Richmond. It is popular, but rather too early for 
those who demand a late cherry. 

Trees should be cut back the first two or three years to make the 
head spread. At the same time the head is kept low, which serves to 
shade the trunk from the sun. 

It is the custom in our locality to set trees about 12 x 12 feet, but 
the writer would plant a cherry orchard 16x16 feet apart. 

Cherries are but little affected by insects, however, occasionally the 
curculio is troublesome, still not to the extent as that of plums. 
While cherries are not as profitable a fruit for commercial traffic as- 
apples, pears, and peaches, yet the trees are ornamental, the fruit is 
handsome, pleasing to the eye and palates of children and birds. 

Then, with all, a valuable addition may be made to the winter store 
of canned fruits for farmer and fruit-grower. Therefore a small cherry 
orchard will add five times its cost to the value of any farm home in 
the country. 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 45 



THE CHERKY. 

By Albert Dickens, Manhattan, Kan. 

Cherries are as nearly sure as any crop we grow in Kansas, yet, 
while we find the raising of com, wheat and potatoes profitable, cher- 
ries are neglected. The cherry is a rival of the late strawberry and 
early raspberry, but it has enough merits of its own to entitle it to a 
place in every fruit garden. There is little danger of raising too many 
cherries until they are so plentiful that prices on them are quoted by 
the peck or bushel instead of by the quart ; in fact, the vast majority 
of home-owners raise fruit for the table rather than for market. 

We have picked cherries, perfect in every particular, that were 
borne by trees grown in all sorts of soils, from the high uplands in 
Scott county, through all the grades of the sandy soils of the Arkan- 
sas valley, to the limestone soils of eastern Kansas. 

One good crop of cherries will pay for the tree, the trouble, and 
the rent of the land, so, if the trees are short-lived, we should plant 
oftener. A few good trees are enough for the family use, and if one 
plants for the market he must calculate as to the distance to market, 
the supply of pickers, and his ability to handle the crop. For market, 
the stem must be picked with the fruit ; for home use they are often 
shaken from the tree and caught upon a sheet. If not picked as soon 
as ripe they are liable to rot badly. Good cherries are well worth all 
they cost, they have a place in the fruit list which no other fruit can 
fill. 

Set the best trees obtainable. Our own nurseries quote fine trees 
at a quarter of a dollar ; less money for larger lots. Set as carefully as 
you would an evergreen, a strawberry plant, or a [helpful] hen. Make 
the hole large enough to allow the roots a natural position ; cut back 
the bruised roots with a smooth cut on the lower side, cut the top 
back in proportion to the roots ; put good soil around the roots ; fill 
in firmly to prevent drying. If the weather department shortens the 
water-supply, draw a couple of inches of earth up to form a pool, give 
the tree a bucket of water, and do not forget to loosen the soil and 
draw the dry earth over for a mulch. If you are master of your time, 
it is better to put the water on in the evening and draw the dry earth 
over in the early morning, before the sun can bake the wet soil and so 
deprive the tree of its supply of air. Keep the trees well cultivated, 
and look at them with your best eye occasionally and criticize their 
forms. Think of the tree as it should appear in a few years, and pinch 
off a sprout when it is liable to make a branch that will in a short 
time rub its neighbor. 

The sour cherries are most widely planted and most successful. 



46 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

The Early Richmond and the Montmorency of the light reds and the 
English Morello of the dark reds are as good as the best. May Duke 
belongs with the sweet cherries botanically, and is more generally suc- 
cessful than any other of that class. It is nearly as sour as the real 
sour cherries. 



INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCES. 

E. T. Daniels, Kiowa, Barber county. — I have twenty cherry trees in 
bearing, planted from eight to fourteen years; the Early Richmond and English 
Morello do best for me. My soil is a dark silt upland, underlaid with red rock 
at three feet, and a poor location. I plant twelve feet apart. Have grown,, 
budded and grafted my own trees. If planting over, I would set the two varie- 
ties named and another which I do not know the name of. My neighbors grow 
very few cherries. The fruit was troubled with curculio only one year, for which 
we did nothing. I expect to put out quite an orchard and believe there is money 
in them. I do not irrigate my trees. 

W. G. O.sborii, Medicine Lodge, Barber county. — I have about fifty cherry 
trees in bearing, planted from five to fifteen years. They are May and Morello. 
My soil is level bottom land. I plant twelve feet apart. Gather when ripe; use 
them at home. Have never grown, budded or grafted my own trees. Some of 
my neighbors are growing cherries. I consider them a good paying crop in this 
locality. They are troubled with birds only; I shoot them occasionally. Do 
not irrigate my trees. 

C. A. Blackmore, Sharon, Barber county. — Early Richmond bears early, 
but the birds get a good share of the crops. I plant Russian mulberries near by 
to help keep the birds from the cherries. English Morello is a splendid cherry 
and a prolific bearer. Montmorency Ordinaire is a very large, fine cherry. Dye- 
house is yet too young to bear with me. Abbesse Sweet Duke, a very rank grower, 
is now four years old and has not fruited yet. The common Morello falls badly 
when stung by insects. Early Richmond and common Morello first bloom April 
22, are in full bloom April 27, and have fallen by May 2. Montmorency Ordinaire 
and English Morello first blooms appear April 26, are in full bloom April 29, 
and have fallen by May 6. 

George Ettridge, Roberts, Barton county.-— I ^have Early Richmond and 
English Morello in bearing — forty trees set two years ago this spring, twenty 
Early Richmonds and twenty Large Montmorency. Cherries do well here; there 
are no insects to bother them. I do n't think the English Morello is very good 
for this upland ; it is too late ripening. I have about 100 Russian mulberries, 
and the birds feed on them, and do n't seem to bother the cherries. I have never 
used any fertilizer until this winter; I am putting stable litter around my trees 
(not near the trees, over the ground). I always tie hay around the trees early 
in the fall to keep rabbits from gnawing them. I set out two-year-old trees in 
the spring: would not take trees of any kind as a gift and set them in the fall. 
Where I set trees I plow the ground early in the fall, deep as a team can pull 
the plow ; I dig holes sixteen inches square, set the trees a little deeper than 
they stood in the nursery, trim all roots to about six inches of the body, and cut 
the top back well. When they are set they look like little sticks stuck in the 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 47 

ground, ten feet apart, with a few short limbs. When setting I fill the hole 
with surface soil, put the tree in the hole, put three or four inches of soil in» 
then half a bucket of water. After a dozen or so are thus set I go back and 
fill the hole up, making the soil firm with the foot. I never plow much with 
a stirring plow, but use the two-horse cultivator, and cultivate whenever it is 
necessary to keep the weeds down ; that is generally three or four times. Never 
let live stock among my trees; do not trim cherry trees much. One of my neigh- 
bors who lives on the creek has the largest Early Richmond tree I ever saw. He 
told me he picked three bushels of cherries off that tree when cherries were sell- 
ing at three quarts for twenty-five cents, and that tree produced about eight 
dollars' worth of fruit: and yet some say it does not pay to set out trees in this 
part of the country. Well, it do n't the way ninety per cent, set them out. In 
the first place, we people out here are bought and sold and hoodooed with tree 
peddlers. They generally set out their trees in the fall because the peddler says 
to. If there happens to be life in any of them the rabbits gnaw them. If some 
leaf out in the spring, they look the patch over, and say "it don't pay." The 
weeds grow up six or seven feet high, and they are disgusted with fruit-trees, 
and swear they will never buy another one. An Ohio nursery delivered $.3000 
worth at Hoisington a year ago last fall. I do n't think one tree is alive. I 
would not have taken the lot as a gift. 

Geo. T. Elliott, Great Bend, Barton county. — I have forty cherry trees in 
bearing; been planted twelve years; the varieties are Early Richmond, Mont- 
morency, and English Morello. Sweet cherries do not do well here. The English 
Morello and Montmorency are the best bearers. My soil is sandy, sloping to the 
east. Plant sixteen feet apart ; market in baskets holding from twelve to sixteen 
quarts, in Great Bend, receiving ten to fifteen cents per quart for them. If 
planting over, I would put out the three varieties I am now growing; cherries 
do not do very well here ; I think the varieties named are best adapted to cen- 
tral Kansas; they bear every year; would not plant extensively. My trees are 
troubled with no insects, but gophers bother some, which I trap. I do not 
irrigate my cherries. It is no trouble to raise cherry trees here in Barton or 
Stafford county. 

J. R. I>uiikiii, Sharon, Barber county. — This seems to be the home of the 
cherry; trees grow vigorous, and are as a rule hardy, and bear abundantly unless 
caught by late frosts. Varieties mostly grown here are Dyehouse, Early Rich- 
mond, May Duke, English Morello, Montmorency, Governor Wood, and the old 
common cherry, known to every boy large enough to climb a cherry tree. There 
should be more cherries planted. They require little attention, can be set in any 
old place, and make their own living and produce a crop. The cherry is a good 
seller here and finds a ready home market. 

A. S. Huft", Enon, Barber county. — The cherry is one of the most useful 
crops in this county, and one that commands a good price and ready sale; a 
fruit that nearly everybody appreciates for canning ; and, like the plum, an every- 
year crop with me. I would recommend the planting of more cherry trees. There 
are but few trees in this part of the state, in fact, not enough to supply the home 
demand, and we cannot get too many. What few trees there are seem a wonder- 
ful success in this part of Kansas. 



48 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

»J. B. Saxe, Fort Scott, Bourbon county. — I have thirty cherry trees in bear- 
ing ; been planted five or six years ; they are Black Morello and Early Richmond. 
Morello is the best bearer. My soil is clay, nearly level. I planted my trees 
about twenty feet apart. Have grown, budded and grafted my own trees. If 
planting over, I would set out a half dozen Morello. My neighbors grow a few 
cherries: I do not consider them a good paying crop in this locality. 

S. F. C. Garrison, El Dorado, Butler county.— I have forty cherry trees in 
bearing; been planted from ten to fifteen years. I find Early Richmond to be 
the best bearer. My soil is upland, sloping to the east. Plant the trees 12x15 
feet. If planting over, I would put out Early Richmond- I do not consider 
them profitable in this locality. They are troubled with curculio, for which we 
sometimes spray. I do not irrigate my trees. 

Dick May, Elk, Chase county. — I have fifteen cherry trees in bearing, 
planted ten years ; they are Morello, which I find to be a good bearer. My soil 
is second bottom, sloping to the east: plant my trees fifteen feet apart. Use all 
the fruit at home. Have never grown, budded, or grafted my own trees. If 
planting over I would set out Early Richmond. My neighbors are growing cher- 
ries on a small scale ; I consider them a good paying crop in this locality ; they 
are troubled with no insects. I do not irrigate. 

A. D. Arnold, Longford, Clay county. — I have six cherry trees in bearing; 
been planted ten years; they are Early Richmond, Dye House, and Montmorency. 
I consider cherries one of the surest and best paying crops in this locality. My 
soil is a sandy loam, sloping west. I plant twenty feet apart. Have never budded, 
grown, or grafted my own trees. If planting again I would put out Early Rich- 
mond, Montmorency, and Dyehouse. Of these I planted fifty a year ago; they 
have done extra well. Neighbors grow a few cherries. My cherries are not 
troubled with any insects. Do not irrigate them. 

Jolin Reed, Longford, Clay county. — I have only a few cherry trees in 
bearing. The Early Richmond seems to be the beet cherry for this locality. I 
would advise all farmers in this vicinity to plant cherries of that variety. 

J. H. Bilsing', Udall, Cowley county. — I have sixty cherry trees in bearing, 
which have been planted eighteen years: they are English Morello, Black Mo- 
rello, Early Richmond, and Royal Duke. The best bearers are Early Richmond 
and English Morello. My soil is loam intermixed with sand: it is level. Plant 
my trees sixteen feet apart. Have grown, budded and grafted my own trees. 
If planting over, I would set out Early Richmond, Royal Duke, Montmorency, 
and English Morello. They should be well cultivated for several years after 
planting. My neighbors grow a few cherries. I consider them a moderately- 
paying crop in this locality. They are troubled with curculio, for which we do 
nothing. Do not irrigate my cherry trees. 

J. H. Sayles, Norcatur, Decatur county. — I have 600 cherry trees in bear- 
ing, planted in 1890, 1893, and 1894 ; they are Early Richmond, Montmorency, 
English Morello, Ostheim, Empress, Eugene, and two unknown kinds. Of these 
the best bearers are English Morello, Montmorency, Early Richmond, Ostheim, 
and Valdimir. My soil is rolling prairie, 170 feet to water, sloping to the north- 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 49 

east: planted my trees 16x20 feet; pay one cent per quart for gathering them; 
my family do most of the work; market in crates holding twenty-four boxes: 
sell at Goodland, Colby, Norton, Oberlin, and the orchard, receiving $1.85 
with stems on, $2.10 stems off, and $3 per bushel at the orchard. Have 
grown, budded and grafted all my own trees. If planting over, I would 
set out Valdimir, English Morello, Montmorency, Early Richmond, Olivet, 
Ostheim, Empress, and also a large sweet, luscious late variety [Late Duke], 
name unknown. My neighbors grow a few cherries, but buy most of thetn from 
me. I consider the cherry business "a gold mine" in this locality. They are 
troubled with no insects. Let my chickens run in the cherry orchard. Never 
irrigate nor mulch my trees, but cultivate often. We plant yearling trees, by 
plowing a ditch as deep as can be ; then plant trees deep and mulch at once ; rains 
fill ditch; cultivate often; trees bear second year. Young orchard five years old 
averages a crate per tree, worth $2: seven-year-old orchard, one bushel each. 
Trees planted in 1890 are failing, losing vigor. We planted 1000 trees last spring; 
all are looking fine. Can't supply the demand. Will put out 1000 trees in 
1901. [Mr. Sayles sent to this office, on July 18, 1900, some splendid specimens 
of Late Duke, also fine Morellos, from three- and four-year-old trees. — Sec] 

P. Waji'iior, Dresden, Decatur county. — Have twenty cherry trees in bear- 
ing — fifteen sour and five sweet. Cannot tell which are the best bearers, as 
they are just coming into bearing. My soil is a clay loam, sloping to the east: 
plant sixteen feet apart. Neighbors are growing some cherries. I consider them 
a good paying crop in this locality: they are troubled with no insect. Do not ir- 
rigate my trees. 

I.saao Clark, Oberlin, Decatur county. — I have seventy cherry trees, planted 
eleven years, fifty of which are sour and ten sweet varieties; all do well. My soil 
is sand and clay, with a northern slope. Plant fifteen feet apart: gather the fruit 
in July; market in boxes, at Oberlin, receiving from eight to ten cents per quart. 
Have never grown, budded or grafted my own trees. My neighbors grow cher- 
ries ; I consider them a good paying crop. They are troubled with grasshoppers, 
but we do nothing for them. Do not irrigate my trees. 

I. M. Taylor, Richmond, Franklin county. — I have six cherry trees in bear- 
ing, which have been planted twelve years; they are the Early Richmond. My 
soil is a sandy loam, sloping to the east. Use all the fruit at home. Have never 
grown, budded or grafted my own trees. If planting over, I would put out Early 
Richmond. My neighbors grow only enough for home use. I would not con- 
sider them a good paying crop in this locality. They are troubled with worms, 
for which we do nothing. 

floliii Bailey, Harper, Harper county. — I have about twenty cherry trees in 
bearing, planted fro- a four to ten years. Those bearing best are Early Eich- 
mond and Large Morello. My soil is black, sandy loam, level. I plant twenty 
feet apart. Sell the fruit in Harper, receiving from five to seven cents per quart. 
Have never grown, Vjudded or grafted my own trees. If doing it all over again, 
I would plant Early Richmond and Morello, and any other varieties that have 
proven a success in this county. My neighbors grow cherries. I consider them 
a good paying crop. Have had very little trouble with insects. Do not irrigate. 
— i 



50 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

D. 1). White, Enon, Harper county.- — I have twelve cherry trees in bearing, 
planted ten years. My soil is a sandy loam, about level. Planted my trees twelve 
feet apart; gather the fruit when ripe; use it all at home. Have never grown, 
budded or grafted my own trees. If planting over, I would put out Early Rich- 
mond, or May and Black Morello. My neighbors are growing cherries. I con- 
sider them a fairly paying crop in this locality. They are troubled with no insects. 
Do not irrigate my cherries. 

F. W. Dixon, Holton, Jackson county. Of all our fruits the cherry is the 
easiest grown and most profitable; trees never require any attention after being 
cared for four or five years. It is true we have failures, but generally get a good 
crop of salable fruit. Dyehovise is a little earlier than Richmond ; tree not as 
good grower and not as hardy. Early Richmond is a standard early cherry, and 
so far has proven the beet paying. Montmorency is an annual bearer, about ten 
days later than Early Richmond, but not so prolific. Fruit very large, good fla- 
vored, and of fine appearance ; tree very hardy, a fine grower, and quite ornamen- 
tal. Wragg has proven to be inferior in size to English Morello. English Morello 
is the standard late cherry. Trees were badly damaged by the cold of February, 
1899, and are generally short-lived because of their extreme productiveness ; we 
have picked two bushels of cherries from trees so small that fruit could all be 
picked while standing on the ground. Sweet cherries have not proven profitable. 
Governor Wood withstood the cold of 1899 all right, but the winds usually man- 
age to get all the fruit before it ripens. Cherry trees generally were badly dam- 
aged by cold of 1899, all the older trees being killed. The extreme limit of life 
of a cherry tree in this climate is about fifteen years. The cherry requires a well- 
drained soil, and will succeed on no other ; a porous clay subsoil is preferable. 

H. S. Cutter, South Cedar, Jackson county. — I learned from planting the 
following varieties of cherries, Early Richmond, Late Richmond, Dyehouse, 
Early Morello, Ostheim, that for me the Early Richmond is the cherry for this 
part of Kansas. 

F. Ij. Osborne, Soldier, Jackson county. — I have eighteen cherry trees, 
planted fifteen years. They are Montmorency, Ostheim, and Richmond: of these 
the best bearer is the Montmorency, although the other two varieties are good 
bearers. My soil is a black level loam. I plant sixteen feet apart. Gather them 
when ripe and sell in the orchard, receiving eight cents per quart. Have never 
grown, budded or grafted my own trees. If planting over again, I know of no 
better varieties than the above-named ones. Would set them in ground free 
from sod, eighteen feet apart, cultivate well, not allowing the weeds to grow^ 

E. M. Gray, Perry, Jefferson county. — In 1885 I planted a small cherry 
orchard; varieties were Early Richmond, Montmorency. I planted them on a 
southern incline, sandy, black soil ; have had a good crop every year since coming 
into bearing, except last year the crop rotted just before ripening: the cause 
of the rot, I think, was too much wet weather and no cultivation. In 1890 I 
planted about 200 cherry trees on three different slopes and soils — No. 1 on 
southern slope, dry, sandy soil; No. 2 on northern, black, wet soil; No. 3 on 
western slope, a red, dry soil. The varieties were Early Richmond, Large Mont- 
morency, Wragg, Dyehouee, English Morello, May Duke, Ostheim, Sula Hardy. 
My experience as to soils is that cherries want dry feet — light, dry, loose soils, I 
had bad success on wet land, and I recommend clean cultivation up to f^e middle 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 51 

of August. The only varieties I am planting now are the Early Richmond and 
Montmorency for commercial purposes. I sell them in berry crates and half- 
bushel baskets at fifty cents per basket, one dollar per crate. I pay two cents 
per box for picking. 

E. P. Dielil, OJathe, Johnson county. — I have sixty cherry trees in bearing, 
been planted twenty-five years. My best bearers are Early Richmond, English 
Morello, and May Duke. My soil is a black loam, sloping north and south [ ?]; I 
plant twenty feet apart, and gather the fruit when nearly ripe; market in one- 
third bushel crates at Olathe, receiving from five to ten cents per quart. Have 
grown, budded and grafted my own trees. If I had it to do all over again, I would 
plant Early Richmond, English Morello, May Duke, Montmorency, and Golden 
Spanish. Some of my neighbors grow cherries; I consider them a good paying 
crop. The curculio trouble my cherries. I spray for them. 

J. C. Beckley, Spring Hill, Johnson county. — Have twelve cherry trees in 
bearing,' i)lan ted twelve years. The varieties are Early Richmond, Montmorency, 
Wragg, and English Morello. These varieties bear about equally. I have twenty 
trees which are not yet in bearing. My soil is black mulatto, sloping slightly to 
the west. Plant two-year-old trees in the spring, sixteen feet apart; gather in 
ba.sket8 holding four quarts; market in Spring Hill in baskets, receiving from five 
to ten cents per quart. Have never grown, budded or grafted my own trees. If 
planting again, I would put out the above-named varieties in an orchard, sixteen 
feet apart, and give good cultivation for four or five years : then keep the surface 
clean under the trees, to prevent insects from harboring there. My neighbors do 
not grow many cherries. I consider them a good paying crop in this locality. 
The fruit is troubled with curculio, for which we have sprayed some. 

C. H. Lonj».stretli, Lakin, Kearny county. — I have .300 cherry trees in bear- 
ing, planted ten years. The varieties are Early Richmond, English and Common 
Morello. Of these the best bearers are Early Richmond ; the others are nearly 
as good. My soil is a deep sandy loam, very nearly level. I gather by hand, pick- 
ing with stem; market in crates containing twenty-four quart boxes. Sell at 
Denver principally, receiving from two to three dollars per crate. Have never 
grown, budded or grafted my own trees. If planting over, I would put out the 
varieties I am now growing, and a few other kinds for experiment. My neigh- 
bors grow a few cherries; I consider them a fairly good paying crop here. The 
fruit is not troubled with any insects. I irrigate my trees only when severe drought 
occurs at time of planting. Cherry trees do better in clay soil, with but little 
water, to get best results. 

Geo. llildreth, Altamont, Labette county.— I have twenty-five cherry trees 
in bearing, planted five and ten years ago. Early Richmond is the best bearer. 
My soil is dark limestone, sloping towards the west. I plant twelve to twenty 
feet apart ; gather when ripe, this year the 28th of May. If I had it to do over, 
I would plant Early Richmond, English and Common Morello. Neighbors grow 
some cherries. The curculio troubles them. 

N. Sauford, Oswego, Labette county. — I have twenty cherry trees in bear- 
ing, planted from two to twenty years ; am growing Early Richmond only, I plant 
in rows thirty feet apart. I use ladders in gathering them, and market in boxes. 
I sell in Dallas and other points in Texas ; usually receive from $1.25 to $1.50 per 



52 THE KANSAS CHERRT. 

case. Have never grown, budded or grafted my own trees. My neighbors grow 
cherries. I consider them a good paying crop in this vicinity. They are 
troubled with the curculio; we spray with London purple and lime. 

D. E. Bratlsti'eet, Dighton, Lane county. — I have ten cherry trees in bear- 
ing, varying in age ; they are Early Richmond. My soil is a dark loam, about level. 
Have never grown, budded or grafted my own trees. If planting over, I would 
set out Early Richmond and English Morello; would plant them between my ap- 
ple trees. My neighbors grow a few cherries. I consider them a fairly paying 
crop in this locality. No insects trouble them. I do not irrigate my trees. 

W. M. Fleliarty, La Cygne, Linn county. — I have forty cherry trees in 
bearing, planted four years: they are Early Richmond. My soil is black alluvial, 
sloping to the east. Plant trees twelve by twenty feet. If planting over, I would 
put out nothing but Early Richmond. I consider them a good paying crop when 
taken care of. The fruit is troubled with curculio, which I gather and destroy. 
Do not irrigate my trees. 

Dr. J. Stayiiiaii, Leavenworth county. — After trying nearly all the pop- 
ular leading varieties of cherries, the following are the best and most profitable 
for Kansas: Dyehouse, Early Richmond, English Morello, Wragg, Ostheim, 
Olivet, Montmorency, Black Tartarian (in favorable locations). For trial: Bald- 
win, of Kansas; Windsor, of Canada; Mercer, of Pennsylvania. 

D. C Overly, Hartford, Lyon county. — I have 300 cherry trees in bearing, 
planted nine years; they are Early Richmond. My soil is black loam, sloping to 
the south. I planted my trees fifteen feet each way, but would plant 15x18 if 
planting again. Gather them in Lesley (wine measure) boxes, receiving from 
ten to twelve cents per quart ; in 1899 I received ten cents per quart. Market 
them in twenty-four-box crates. Sell at the orchard and in Emporia. In 1898 
I gathered 2000 boxes and sold them at 6h cents. Have never grown, budded or 
grafted my own cherry trees. If planting over, I would set out Early Richmond, 
as it is a sure shot every year, but not a full crop every year; on short crops I get 
about as much money as on full crops ; the longer you are in the business the 
better prices you get. Do n't plant cherries on level land. My neighbors do not 
grow cherries. I consider them a good paying crop in this locality. I spray, and 
have no trouble with insects. I do not irrigate my trees, 

J. T. Barnes, Beloit, Mitchell county. — I have seventy-five cherry trefes in 
bearing, planted from two to ten years. They are Early Richmond, Dyehouse, 
Montmorency, Ostheim, English Morello, Empress, Wragg, and Sweet May 
Duke; of these the best bearers are Early Richmond, Dyehouse, Early Morello, 
and Montmorency. My soil is sandy loam, river bottom, sloping towards the 
southeast. I plant in rows fifteen feet apart, trees twelve feet apart in the row, 
which is too close. I gather them by hand, with hired help, and market in bulk; 
sell at home or Beloit for five cents per quart. Have never grown, budded or 
grafted my own trees. If I had it all to do over again, I would plant English 
Morello, Early Richmond, and both kinds of Montmorencys, in rows twenty feet 
apart, with the English Morello and others sixteen feet apart in the rows. My 
neighbors grow cherries, and we consider them a good paying crop. The fruit is 
rarely troubled in this section. Do not irrigate my trees, I depend on frequent 
ultivation. 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 53 

J. C. Ross, Havana, Montgomery county.— I have 200 cherry trees, planted 
two, four, and seven years, the varieties are Morello and Early May. Both are 
good bearers. My soil is sandy, sloping to the south. I plant in spring; gather 
in June; sell by the quart in town, receiving from eight to ten cents per quart. 
Have never grown, budded or grafted my own trees. My neighbors are growing 
cherries, and I consider them a paying crop in this locality. The fruit is often 
wormy and is stung by some insect: we spray for them. 

V. E. Hathaway, Council Grove, Morris county. — My cherry trees were 
nearly all killed in the winter of 1899. Would plant only English Morello, Early 
Richmond, and Montmorency. Bring from five to eight cents per quart. My 
neighbors grow cherries for home use only. They are not a paying crop in this 
locality. The blue jays and robins trouble the fruit, but I do nothing but get 
mad and scold. [Try the bell cure.] Do not irrigate my trees. 

John E. Sample, Beman, Morris county. — Has 500 cherry trees, planted one, 
two, three and ten years; they are all sour varieties. The best bearer Mr. Sample 
has is a variety brought by his ancestors from Scotland and planted in America in 
the colonial times, before the revolutionary war. He says no one outside of the 
Sample family is growing this variety. His land is black loam, sloping to the 
south ; planted his trees twenty feet apart. Sells his fruit while on the trees for 
twenty-five cents per gallon. He has grown, budded and grafted his ovrn trees. 
If planting over, he would set out the variety he is now growing, grafted on apri- 
cot roots; he would also put out a few Early Richmond; expects to plant 400 or 
500 next spring. He says: "My neighbors grow a few cherries; I am the only 
fool( ?) in this county." He, considers them a good paying crop in that locality. 
Says they are troubled with no insects. Dots not irrigate his trees. 

S. J. Baklwiii, Seneca, Nemaha county. — I have lived in Nemaha county, 
Kansas, thirty-three years. I have planted a number of orchards and about 
twenty or more varieties of cherries. My experience in growing cherries for 
market began in 1884, when I planted 100 trees — 40 Early Richmond, 40 English 
Morello, 10 Empress Eugenia, 10 Louis Philippe. All did well excepting the lat- 
ter; they seemed worthless and only lived about four years. The Empress fruited 
quite regularly, often quite full, but, being very early and sweet, the birds always 
got fully one-half, and the trees died in eight years. The Early Richmond and 
English Morello fruited very abundantly almost every year; the severe winter of 
1898 and 1899 killed them. In the spring of 1888 I planted .300 more cherry trees 
in an apple orchard ; the apple trees were 32x,32 feet, and cherry trees in center 
of square, all on south slope; they were 100 Early Richmond, 100 English Mo- 
rello, and 10 each of Dyehouse, Governor Wood, Black Tartarian, Belie de Choisy, 
May Duke, Olivet, Ostheim, Montmorency, Wragg, and Yellow Spanish. The 
Yellow Spanish, Choisy, Tartarian and Olivet lived about seven years and pro- 
duced but few cherries, excepting Tartarian, which had two good crops. Gov- 
ernor Wood and May Duke had fruit about every alternate year, but died at ten 
years. Early Richmond, English Morello and Dyehouse were all budded on 
Morello seedlings and produced a full crop of sprouts from roots, as well as fruit 
every year; they were so injured by cold in winter of 1898 and 1899 that they are 
most of them dead now. The Ostheim, Wragg and Late Montmorency are still 
alive and very prolific ; but the two former are so dwarfed by overbearing that 
the trees are scarcely ten feet high now, while the Montmorency trees are large 
and in fairly good condition and have fruited pretty well generally. In 1892 I 



54 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

planted 600 cherry trees on new land, north slope, red subsoil, 14x14 feet; 20 
Dyehouse, 80 Montmorency, 200 English Morello, and 300 Early Richmond, and 
got perfect stand and trees did remarkably well, most all on Mahaleb roots, and 
in two years about all but Montmorency were fruiting. Four years from plant- 
ing I sold $100 worth ; and in 1898 I sold about $400 worth of cherries from them ; 
this year (1900) I had about a forty- per-cent. crop on the Dyehouse, Early Rich- 
mond, and English Morello, and about a seventy-five per cent, crop on the Mont- 
morency, and sold from this orchard nearly $400 worth of cherries, and trees are 
now in a thrifty and vigorous condition, excepting the English Morello, which 
were injured some by severe cold two years ago. Since 1892 I have planted in 
orchard about 600 cherry trees, mostly Early Richmond, English Morello, and 
Montmorency, and 250 Baldwin cherry, a new seedling which I introduced in 1893, 
and which bears finer, larger, more beautiful cherries and is more productive than 
any other sort, the tree being a very hardy and vigorous grower. The original 
tree has fruited very regularly for about ten years and passed through the severe 
winter of 1898-'99 in fine condition. Hereafter I shall plant all Baldwin. Cher- 
ries ripened this year (1900) as follows: Dyehouse, June 9; Early Richmond, 
June 11; Baldwin, June 17; Montmorency Ordinaire, June 23: Late Montmor- 
ency, June 26; Ostheim, June 29; English Morello, July 4: and Wragg, July 7. 
I cultivate my trees thoroughly every year ; do not prune after second year. Em- 
ploy boys and girls to pick the fruit ; use step-ladders ; pick with stem on, in quart 
boxes, carried in baskets which, when filled, are placed in crates. I find a ready 
home market for all. I have had calls to ship, but never had but few to spare; 
there seems to be a growing demand for the fruit, yet scarcely any commercial 
cherry orchards are being planted. 

C. D. Martindale, Scranton, Osage county. — I have seventy-five cherry 
trees in bearing,fplanted from three to fourteen years. My sour varieties are Early 
Richmond, Montmorency, and English Morello. I find the Early Richmond 
and Montmorency to be the best bearers. My soil is black bottom, gumbo and 
clay; it is nearly level. I plant in rows twenty feet apart; gather when fully 
ripe; market in quart boxes; sell at home or in Scranton at five cents per quart. 
Have never grown, budded or grafted my own trees. If I had to do it all over 
again, I would plant the varieties I am now growing. I would plant nearly on 
top of the ground, and cultivate well while young. My neighbors grow only 
cherries enough for their own use. I consider them a good paying crop in this 
locality. Have not had much trouble with insects. Do not irrigate my trees, 
but have a large pond near them. 

F. T. M. Dutclier, Phillipsburg, Phillips county.— I have about forty cherry 
trees in bearing, planted from two to fifteen years. The varieties are, sour, Rich- 
mond, Dyehouse, and Leib; semiacid, Montmorency and Ostheim. Of these 
the best bearers are Richmond and Morello. My soil is sandy loam, nearly level. 
I plant sixteen feet apart; gather them from June to September; market at home. 
Have never grown, budded or grafted my own trees. If I had it to do over again, 
I would plant Richmond, Morellos, and Dyehouse. Would get my trees from 
some good nurseryman. My neighbors grow cherries. I think them a good pay- 
ing crop. Am troubled with no insects. Spray my trees. Irrigate sometimes. 

Dr. James Myers, Hutchinson, Reno county. — I am most familiar with 
Early Richmond and English Morello. My opinion is that they only will pay to 
plant in this section of the country. Many other varieties do well in Eastern 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 55 

states, but are of little value in the West, especially in the Arkansas valley. My 
experience with the two varieties referred to has given good satisfaction. I 
planted 100 of each kind. Early Richmond and English Morello, about ten years 
ago. The second year they commenced bearing and have fruited every year, 
with one exception, since, and that was not a total failure. My cherry orchard 
is on high land, that is, it is forty feet above the river-bed, but I have known 
the same varieties to fruit equally well on bottom land. I assert that no fruit 
can be raised in this country with less labor and more profit than cherries. As 
to which variety I consider best, if I were to plant but one tree, it would be 
Richmond, but if I should plant more than one, half would be Morellos. The 
Richmond is a much larger and hardier tree, and lives longer. The fruit is more 
desirable for canning. Some object to it because it adheres to the stone, but 
that is an advantage in shipping. The Morello is not of so fine a flavor, is much 
easier to pick, and parts more readily from the stone: it is also a prolific bearer, 
and never ceases bearing until dead. My trees have borne as much as five crates 
each. I have always found a good market at home, at never lees than $1.50 nor 
more than $2 per crate I would earnestly recommend the planting of larger 
numbers of cherry trees in our state. 

Joliii Hinds, Olcott, Reno county. — Have a few Early Richmond cherry 
trees, just beginning to bear. My soil is a black loam with clay subsoil. If planting 
over again, I would plant only Early Richmond; think spring planting best. I 
consider them a good paying crop. They are troubled with a web-worm; we do 
nothing for them. Do not irrigate my trees. 

M. E. Wells, Smith Center, Smith county. — Have fifty cherry trees in 
bearing, planted seven years, on clay loam resting on yellow silt, sloping to the 
east. Plant sixteen feet apart. Sell the fruit in the orchard, receiving five cents 
a quart. Have never grown, budded or grafted my own trees. If planting over, 
I would put out Early Richmond and some others, in dead furrows, and harrow, 
cultivate and hoe often, never mulch ; leave tops thick. My neighbors grow some 
cherries. I consider them a good paying crop in this locality. They are troubled 
with the curculio, which I rub off. Do not irrigate my trees. 

T>. M. Adams, Rome, Sumner county.— Have eight cherry trees in bearing, 
planted ten years. They are Morello and Early Richmond; the Richmond is the 
best bearer with me. My soil is prairie, sloping to the southeast. Grow them 
for home use only. They are troubled with no insects, but the birds get most of 
the fruit. Do not irrigate my trees. 

E. K. Wolvertou, Barnes, Washington county.— Have sixty Early Rich- 
mond cltrrri/ trees in bearing, been planted twenty-five years. My soil is high clay 
prairie, having a northern aspect; planted twenty feet each way. Sell the fruit 
in Barnes and Greenleaf , receiving six cents per quart. Have grown, budded and 
grafted my own trees. If planting over, I would put out none but Early Rich- 
mond, budded on Mahaleb roots, 20 x 20 feet, on high ground, as they are better 
than the English Morello; other kinds do not bear well. My neighbors grow a 
few cherries. Do not irrigate my trees ; it is not practicable. 

C. H. Taylor, Eskridge, Wabaunsee county.— I have 100 cherry trees in 
bearing which have been planted ten yjears. They are Early Richmond and 
English Morello, both good bearers. My soil is a clay loam, sloping to the north. 



56 THE KANSAS CHERRY, 

Planted my trees ten by twenty feet. Market the fruit in half bushel baskets, at 
home and in Topeka. Receive $2 per bushel. I always grow, bud and graft my 
own trees. If planting over, I would set out English Morello, worked on Morello 
roots, set in deep, rich soil, and thoroughly cultivated. My neighbors grow but 
few cherries. I consider them a good paying crop in this locality. They are not 
troubled with insects. I do not irrigate my cherry trees. 

Alexander Spiers, Linn, Washington county. — Have about 100 cherry 
trees in bearing, which have been planted from five to fifteen years; the varieties 
are Early Richmond, Common, Black and English Morello; the Enghsh Morello 
is a rapid grower but poor bearer; the best for bearing and quality of fruit are 
Black Morello and Early Richmond. My soil slopes towards the southeast; 
plant twenty feet apart; sell the fruit in the orchard, receiving from five to ten 
cents per quart. If planting again, I would set the same varieties I have now, 
excepting the English Morello, and would cultivate and take good care of them, 
and would get good returns. My neighbors grow cherries. I consider them a 
good paying crop; they are troubled with no insects. I do not irrigate my trees. 

W. I>. Cellar, Edwardsville, Wyandotte county. — I have 600 cherry trees, 
planted from five to nine years; they are Early Richmond, Dyehouse, English 
Morello, Ostheim, and Montmorency ; of these I find the Early Richmond and 
English Morello to be the beet bearers. My soil is clay, with a clay subsoil, 
sloping towards the east and south. I plant 15x25 feet; gather fruit in quart 
boxes, and market in twenty-four-quart crates. Sell in Kansas City, and west- 
ern Kansas and Colorado towns, receiving, usually, from one to two dollars per 
crate. I have grown, budded and grafted my own cherries. If doing it over, 
I would plant Early Richmond and English Morello, 15x20 feet. My neighbors 
grow a few cherries. I consider it a fair paying crop. The curculio trouble 
theha; we do nothing for them. 

Maj. F. Holsing'er, Rosedale, Wyandotte county. — Experience says, plant 
only the Morello varieties, if you would succeed. How much disappointment 
has resulted in trying to raise the Dukes and Bigarreaus; an impossibility in our 
climate. "Why?" do you ask? My answer would be, inclemency of winter, 
and the occasional drought of summer. Be the cause what it may, any attempt 
must end in disaster — and there you are. Confine your efforts to the Morello 
and you may have a meed of success. True, the cherry is not a long-lived tree, 
and disappointments await you even here. If you are guided by the best ad- 
vice you can still hope for success. In the selection of a location for an orchard, 
choose only a well-drained soil. The cherry must have dry feet. Any location 
inclined to be wet must end in failure. Varieties are the next consideration. 
Of the many Morellos, Dyehouse, Early Richmond, Montmorency, English 
Morello and Wragg are the best with me. There are new varieties yet not 
sufficiently tried to warrant their recommendation. The cherry, like other fruits, 
makes it growth early in the season. The first six weeks of summer is the time. 
In this time too much cultivation cannot be given. After the tree has gone into 
rest there is little use for cultivation. By attention to the facts given above, I 
have found more satisfaction in the cultivation of the cherry than from any 
other fruit. 



Upper figun 
Lower figun 



al Society, 



Total bearing, 1,159,100 

Not bearing, 507,356 

Grand total, 1,666,456 




15,671 

Wyandotte 
19,255 



upper fibres, beariDg trees. 
Lower figures, not yet bearing. 



CHERRY-TREE STATISTICS, 1900. 

Compiled by WILLIAM H. BARNES, Secretary Kansas State Horticultural Society, 
STATE CAPITOL, TOPEKA, KAN. 



■266 

Cheyenne. 

1.181 



Greeley. 



Thomaa. 
1 ,027 



Logan. 



Wichita. 
1,717 



Kearny. 
1,093 



3,688 

Decatur, 

6,462 



Sheridan. 
1,861 



Gove. 

2,788 



Scott. 
1,218 



2,256 
Finney. 
2,502 



Gray. 



7,602 

Norton. 

10,889 



Graham. 
4,431 



1,157 

Trego. 
2,974 



Ness. ] 
4,484 



Hodgeman. 

1,764 



Ford. 
7,254 



3.120 
Seward, 



1,794 

Meade. 

1,290 



13.069 
Phillips. 



Rooks. 

9,716 



Ellis.- 
3,181 



Rush." 
7,670 



6,621 
Pawnee. 



4,252 

Edwards. 

4,920 



1,740 
Kiowa. 

1,683 



Comanche. 



24,953 

Smith. 

15,711 



10,359 
Osborne. 



Russell. , 

5,273 



Barton. 

10,834 



Stafford. 

14,728 



Pratt. 

3,586 



Total bearing 1,159,100 

Not bearing, 507,366 

Grand total 1,666,456 



Barber. 

1,793 



43,245 

Jewell. 



Republic. 
7,350 



14,8.55 

Mitchell. 
6,084 



8,027 

Lincoln. 
3,775 



Ellsworth; 

4,959 



Rice." 

8.027 



30,325 

Washington. 

14,171 



35,948 
Reno. 
12,848 



13,356 
Kingman. 

5,880 



Harper 

4,165 




THE KANSAS CHERRY. 57 



A PROMISING NEW FRUIT FROM THE PLAINS. 

By Chaeles E. Bessey, Lincoln, Neb. 

Upon the plains of Nebraska, one of the small native shrubs which 
has attracted attention on account of its promising fruits is what has 
been known as the Sand cherry. Scientifically, it is the Primus pu- 
mila of the botanists, and a member of the natural order Rosacese, 
and of the family Amygdaleje. Its affinities are with the cherries 
and the plums, native of this country and Europe. 

In Nebraska it occurs upon sandy soils north of the Platte river, 
beginning at about 75 or 100 miles from the Missouri river, and ex- 
tending thence westward and south westward to the Colorado line. It 
appears to prefer the sandier soils ; hence its popular name ; and over 
the greater area I have outlined, wherever the soil is sufficiently sandy 
it occurs in abundance. In these portions of the country the inhab- 
itants have for a long time been in the habit of collecting and using 
the fruit, and in some cases attempts have been made to bring the 
shrubs under cultivation. 

The fruits are true cherries, occurring usually in pairs or threes 
(rarely singly ) on the last year's wood. The cherries are about one- 
half inch in diameter, and when rij^e are of a deep purj)le-black color. 
In shape they vary from flattened spherical (oblate spherical) to 
spherical, and even bluntly conical. At the base they are slightly 
indented, and the apex is usually marked by a slight indentation also. 
The stalk is slender, and from one-half to three-fourths of an inch in 
length. The stone or pit is slightly elongated, but little compressed, 
rounded on one margin, and bluntly angled on the other. 

The fruits have a colored jQlesh which possesses in many cases a 
considerable astringency, but in nearly every clump of bushes one 
may always find some which have but little if any astringency. I have 
frequently eaten the fresh cherries while rambling over the plains, and 
have often found specimens which were fully as palatable as many of 
the cultivated cherries. 

The shrub grows to a height of from one to two feet, or rarely more. 
Its leaves are of firm texture, oblanceolate in shape, with slightly ser- 
rated margins. Their under surfaces are whitish, and they are borne 
upon short petioles, and stand alternately upon the stems. Under 
cultivation, the shrubs are much thriftier and the leaves are larger. 

From the fact that in a wild state these cherries are so large, and 
in many cases so palatable, I am led to- hope that by cultivation they 
may be made to yield us a new fruit for our gardens in some i^ortions 
of the Northern states, especially in sandy soils. I am, moreover, 



68 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

encouraged in this hope by the fact that experiments upon a small 
scale, made by persons living in the region where the Sand cherry 
grows, have given results which indicate that it is readily affected by 
cultivation. 

In closing, I need only to say that the Sand cherry of the plains, 
while apparently the same botanically as the Primus pumila of the 
East, possesses well-marked differences; that I am inclined to regard 
it as at least a good geographical variety. It is from the Western 
form only that I hope we may derive a new fruit. 



DESCRIPTION OF VARIETIES. 

DYEHOUSE. 

Origin unknown ; was introduced by H. T. Harris, of Stamford, 
Ky., and was found growing in an old Morello orchard on the farm 
of a Mr. Dyehouse, in Lincoln county, over thirty years since ; it is 
still grown there from suckers, and is claimed to be hardy, moderately 
vigorous, somewhat spreading, of the Morello type, but partakes both 
of the Morello and Duke in growth and fruit ; a very early and sure 
bearer ; ripens a week before Early Richmond, is about the same size, 
of better quality, and quite as productive. Fruit medium, oblate or 
roundish oblate, slightly depressed, without suture ; apex slightly de- 
pressed ; skin bright red, dark red in the sun ; stalk of medium length, 
slender ; cavity rather large, smooth ; flesh soft, juicy, tender, sprightly 
subacid, rather rich ; pit very small ; sometimes the stalk adheres to 
the pit. (Downing.) 

GOVERNOR WOOD. 

Raised by Professor Kirtland. Cleveland, Ohio. It deserves a place 
in every good collection. Tree vigorous, forming a round, regular 
head; very productive. 

Fruit large, roundish, heart-shaped. Skin light yellow, shaded and 
marbled with bright red. Suture half-round. Stem an inch and a 
half long, in a broad cavity. Flesh nearly tender, juicy, sweet, rich, 
and delicious. Very good to best; ripe about the middle of June. 
( Downing. ) 

MAY DUKE. 

Royale Hative, Cherry Duke of some, Cerise Guigne, Coularde, 
De Hollande, D'Espagne, Griotte Grrosse Noire, Griotte d'Espagne of 
some, Griotte Precoce of some. Early Duke, Large May Duke, Mor- 
ris Duke, Morris's Early Duke, Benham's Fine Early Duke, Thomp- 
son's Duke, Portugal Duke, Buchanan's Early Duke, Millet's Late 
Heart Duke. This invaluable early cherry is one of the most popu- 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 59 

lar sorts of all countries, thriving almost equally well in cold or >N'arm 
climates. This, the Blackheart and the Bigarreau are the most exten- 
sively diffused of all the finer varieties in the United States. And 
among all the new varieties none has been found to supplant the May 
Duke. Before it is fit for table use it is admirably adapted for cook- 
ing, and when fully ripe it is, perhaps, the richest of the subacid 
cherries. In the gardens here, we have noticed a peculiar habit of 
this tree of producing very frequently some branches which ripen 
much later than the others, thus protracting for a long time the period 
in which its fruit is in use. The May Duke is remarkable for its up- 
right or, as it is called, fast'igiate head, especially while the tree is 
young, in distinction to other sorts, which produce many lateral 
branches. Fruit roundish, or obtuse heart-shaped, growing in clus- 
ters. Skin at first of a lively red, but when fully ripe of a rich dark 
red. Flesh reddish, tender and melting, very juicy, and at maturity 
very rich and excellent in flavor. This fruit is most frequently picked 
while it is yet red and partially acid, and before it attains its proper 
color or flavor. It begins to color, about New York, in favorable 
seasons, the last of May, and ripens during the first half of June. 
May Duke is said to be a corruption of Medoc, the province in France 
where this variety (the type of all classes now called Dukes) is be- 
lieved to have originated. (Downing.) 

liATE DUKE. 

Anglaise Tardive. A very large and fine Duke cherry, ripening 
later than the May Duke, and therefore a very valuable sort for dessert 
or for cooking. The tree is of vigorous growth for its class. Fruit 
large, flattened, or obtuse heart-shaped. Color, when fully ripe, rich 
dark red (but at first white, mottled with bright red). Stalk rather 
slender, inserted in a shallow hollow. Flesh yellowish, tender, juicy, 
with a sprightly subacid flavor, not quite so sweet and rich as the 
May Duke. Ripens gradually, and hangs on the tree from the middle 
of July till the 10th of August. (Downing.) 

BELLE DE CHOISY. 

Belle Audegoise, Ambree de Choisy, Ambree a Gros Fruit, Ce- 
rise Doucette, Cerise de la Palembre, Cerise a Noyau Tendre, Schone 
von Choisy. 

In our estimation, there is no cherry for the dessert more deliciou.'* 
than the Belle de Choisy. It comes from the village of Choisy, near 
Paris, where it was raised in 1760. The habit of the tree is nearly 
that of the May Duke, the leaves dark, and the head upright. It is 
hardly a moderate bearer. 

Fruit round or slightly depressed. Skin very thin and translucent, 
showing a net-like texture of flesh beneath ; in color, pale amber in 



60 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

the shade, but in the sun finely mottled with yellowish red, the fruit 
fully exposed becoming a bright cornelian red. Flesh amber coloredj 
very tender and melting, of a delicate sweet flavor. Stalk rather short, 
swollen at the upper end. Best. Middle of June or directly after the 
May Duke. (Downing.) 

OLIVET. 

A new French cherry, with the following description from the cat- 
alogue of Transou Brothers, of Orleans, France : 

This sort takes a place not occupied up to the present among the 
list of early cherries. Nearly all the early sorts we possess are sweet 
amber or red varieties, with a limited fruiting season. The Olivet 
cherry is a large, globular, very shining, deep red sort. The flesh is 
red with a rose-colored juice, tender, rich, and vinous, with a very 
sweet, subacidulous flavor. It ripens in the beginning of June, and 
continues until July without losing its quality. It possesses the fer- 
tility of the best of the Duke tribe, and is perhajDS the largest of that 
class. A friend writes that it fruited with him the past season, but 
being very dry the fruit was small ; otherwise it sustained its foreign 
repu tation . ( Downing. ) 

REINE HORTENSE. 

Monstreuse de Bavay, Belle de Bavay, Lemercier, Seize a la Livre. 
French origin, of Duke habit. Tree a healthy and handsome grower, 
productive, and a very desirable variety. Fruit very large, roundish, 
elongated. Skin a bright, lively red, somewhat marbled and mottled. 
Suture distinctly marked by a line without any depression. Flesh 
tender, juicy, very slightly subacid, and delicious ; best of its season. 
Ripe from the middle to the last of July. ( Downing.) 

BELLE MAGNiriQUE. 

Belle et Magnifique, Belle de Sceaux, Magnifique de Sceaux, Belle 
de Chatenay, Planchoury. Tree hardy, moderately vigorous, produc- 
tive ; a beautiful and excellent late variety. Useful for culinary pur- 
poses, and good table fruit when pretty ripe. Fruit large, roundish, 
inclining to heart shape. Stalk long, slender, in an open, medium 
cavity. Skin a fine bright red. Flesh juicy, tender, with a sprightly 
subacid flavor; one of the best of its class. Ripe from the middle of 
July till the middle of August. ( Downing. ) 

WRAGG. 

Originated in Iowa. Medium to large ; stem long ; dark purple 
when fully ripe. A variety well adapted for the high latitude and 
prairie regions of the Northwest. July. ( A. C. Griesa & Bro. Nur- 
sery Catalogue.) 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 61 



PROF. L. H. BAILEY ON CHEERIES. 

The older cherry plantations of the state were seldom anything 
more than scattered settings along lanes and roadsides and about 
farm buildings. Most of these old trees have now passed their prime. 
In very recent years a new interest in cherry growing has been awak- 
ened by the demand from canning factories, and it has no doubt 
been stimulated, also, by the abundant sale of California cherries 
throughout the East. Sweet cherries are yet scarcely planted in 
western New York in orchard blocks, although there is every reason 
to believe that there is profit in the fruit if planters are careful to in- 
form themselves concerning it. Sour cherries, however, are now 
planted to an important extent, jjarticularly about Geneva, and the 
acreage is bound to increase. The pack of canned sweet cherries is 
still larger than that of sour cherries in western New York, in average 
years. The scattered plantings make uncertain crops, and canners 
cannot buy as confidently as they could if there were more continu- 
ous plantations. Consequently the pack varies much from year to 
year. 

RUSSIAN CHERRIES. 

Prof. F. A. Waugh gave some notes on cherries, gleaned from the 
work of the experiment station and from trees sent out by the station. 
He said that from the distribution of a miscellaneous lot of fruits, 
largely of Russian varieties, much the larger part of the favorable 
reports received were from the cherries. There were two reasons for 
this, both significant. First, the Russian cherries are generally the 
best of the Russian fruits ; and second, cherries, as a class, are better 
able to stand the neglect of common farm treatment than other fruits. 
Notes were given on a large number of varieties, among which the 
following were favorably mentioned : Morello, Montgomery, Brussler, 
Braun, Bessarabian, Schatten Amarelle, and Wragg, the latter being 
possibly a synonym of Morello. Others present had good success 
with Early Richmond, Dyehouse, and Olivet. — Coinitry Gentleman's 
report of Vermont society. 



List of varieties of the cherry voted as suitable for Kansas, in the 
order named, by the State Horticultural Society : Early Richmond, 
English Morello, Montmorency, Dyehouse, Ostheim, Wragg, Gov- 
ernor Wood, Napoleon Bigarreau. 



62 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 



GROWING BIG CHERRIES. 

A writer in the iSt. James Gazette, London, tells how big cherries 
are obtained in that country. He says : The next and most imj)ortant 
point of all now is, how can we improve the size and color of onr cher- 
ries V We have been told, until we are weary, that the cherry tree 
does best in sod. We do not believe it, for such a suggestion goes 
dead against our contention that all fruit-trees are more fruitful when 
the surface soil above their roots is clean — unoccuxDied by anything 
growing, whether it be grass or weeds. We admit that in the sum- 
mer heat the cherry tree needs water, and a large quantity of it; also, 
that coolness above the roots is an advantage. We do not mind say- 
ing that sod insures coolness to a certain extent, but grass robs the 
soil of j)lant-food, and takes what the roots of the cherry trees want 
and should have instead. 

To meet the demands of the cherry tree in summer, or just previous 
to and in the fruiting season, we prefer to act thus, and find the result 
more satisfactory by a long way : To insure coolness over the root& 
use a mulch of stones. They need not be too small ; they will answer 
the purpose much better that either stable manure or sod ever can. 
They do not keep out the air ; they retain the moisture from the morn- 
ing dews, and act most beneficially. Next feed with liquid manure 
now and again, after the fruits begin to swell, and then see how they 
develoj). W^ell, those who have never grown cherries before under 
this method will, upon testing it, be amazed at the results. One of 
the finest parcels of big cherries ever marketed came from trees treated 
thus under our instructions. When they were being put upon the 
cart one day a passing grower said to the owner of the fruit : "I say, 
guv'nor, how do you grow big cherries like them ?" The owner gave 
no reply. We give the secret away, if secret it be, satisfied that if the 
system is adopted it will double or treble the weight of the crop of 
each tree. 



CHERRIES IN DEMAND. 

There is a constantly growing demand for well-grown, well-colored 
cherries of good size, and they bring better prices in the markets 
everywhere than any other orchard fruit, year in and year out, with 
the possible exception of apples, when the labor of gathering and 
marketing is considered. A veteran cherry grower at a recent gath- 
ering remarked that, in his opinion, formed from extended observa- 
tion, there were fewer cherry trees on the farms of the country than 
any other of our orchard trees of the sorts generally grown. He as- 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 63 

cribed this to the "laziness of the average farmer, who hadn't energy 
enough to fight off the birds that yearly ate the crop, and the trees 
were permitted to die out, and were not replaced." There is much 
truth in the statement. So long as farmers make no effort to circum- 
vent the birds beyond thf placing of a scarecrow or two in the or- 
chards, just so long will the birds get the bulk of the cherry crop. One 
of the finest cherry orchards we ever saw was effectually protected 
from the ravages of birds in the following manner: The trees were 
set in the usual way and at the ordinary distance apart, but around 
the entire orchard was set a double row of trees of taller growing 
cherries, and the fruit on these was freely given up to the birds. Not 
a single cherry was ever picked from them except by the birds. 
There was such an abundance that the birds rarely attacked the 
fruit on the other or inside trees. After the first season they seemed 
to realize that they were to have undisputed po.ssession of this fruit. 
The owner of this orchard claims that he has often observed the birds 
flying over his cherry orchard, but alighting only on the outer rows, 
the "birds' cherries."' Occasionally he sees a few birds in the orchard 
proper, liut claims that repeated close observation reveals the fact 
that they are seeking insects and not fruit. Other growers have tried 
the plan on a smaller scale, and found that it worked to perfection. 

The best success with cherries is had in a soil fairly rich, but dry, or 
one that can be easily drained. Cherry trees are subject to but few 
diseases ; the black-knot, which is confined chiefly to the sweet va- 
rieties [ ? ? ], being the most troublesome. In the selection of vari- 
eties the planting should be governed by the demands of the market, 
bearing in mind that highly colored sweet varieties sell best, although 
there is always a demand at fair prices for the sour sorts. — New York 
Tribune. 

TWO POPULAR CHERRIES. 

Cherry growing is a prominent interest in' western New York. 
The two most profitable varieties are the Montmorency and the Eng- 
lish Morello. It is a question which is the more popular of the two. 
The canners give the Montmorency the preference. Both varieties 
should be grown, as by the time the Montmorency is gone the Eng- 
lish Morello is ready for market. The Early Richmond is not in 
much favor, being small and of poor quality. The Ostheim is very 
productive, but too small. 

A common mistake is made of planting trees too close together ; 
18x18 feet is the right distance. Five cents a quart is a fair price for 
the fruit, and at this rate an orchard will net $100 to |175 a year per 
acre. 



64 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 



LARGE CHERRY TREES. 

At Monte Rio, five miles southeast of Newcastle, Placer county, 
California, on the place of Robert Hector, is to be found what are prob- 
ably the largest cherry trees in the world. There are about fifty of 
these trees, which were planted in 1853. According to The Pacific 
Bee, Mr. Hector has systematically made inquiry, whenever he heard 
of a large cherry tree in any place in the world, and all his investigation 
thus far has failed te find iipon this continent, or upon the old con- 
tinent, trees as large as his own.. The next largest tree he has heard 
of is in Buffalo, N. Y. What is perhaps the largest tree in the lot is 
a Black Tartarian, and is seventy feet high. Its branches spread 
over a piece of ground the diameter of which is between seventy and 
seventy-five feet, and the trunk is between ten and eleven feet in cir- 
cumference. From one of these cherry trees, in one season, has been 
taken as high as 3000 pounds of fruit. The trees are really too large 
to be profitable, for the fruit has to be gathered with the aid of ex- 
tension ladders securely guyed, by men slung in swings from such 
ladders or the forks of the trees. The best fruit, of course, is toward 
the tijDS of the branches, and, therefore, the most diffiult to reach. 



HIGH PRICES FOR CHERRIES. 

A press dispatch, dated New York, May 6, reads as follows : Cali- 
fornia cherries have furnished the feature of the fruit market for the 
last few days, and they have, as a rule, brought excellent prices. The 
fruit auction company sold fifty-one boxes yesterday at auction, and 
they were snapped up at prices ranging from $8.25 down to $1.75 per 
ten-pound box. The phenomenal price paid for the choicest lots 
probably establishes a record. The same company sold twenty boxes 
to-day at equally fancy prices. 



MONEY IN CHERRIES. 

The Cloverdale Reveille recently printed the following: Farley 
Abshire has shipped 285 boxes of cherries, each box containing ten 
pounds. The fruit netted him about one dollar per box. He still has 
about 3000 pounds of later varieties which he will dispose of to the 
canneries. He will realize probably $300 from less than an acre of 
ground. Who says cherries do not pay ? 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 65 



GREEN'S BLACK TARTARIAN CHERRY. 

I have spoken in these cohimns about the old cherry trees stand- 
ing near our house at Rochester, N. Y., which have borne heavy loads 
of the finest fruits regularly each season as far back as the oldest in- 
habitants can remember. This year these trees have been as heavily 
laden as formerly, and the fruit has been uniformly of the finest char- 
acter and free from blemish. This year, as in former years, this fruit 
has been in eatable condition for about four weeks, and at the present 
writicg, July 5, the cherries are in their prime. 

We pick these cherries for market before they turn black, since 
that is the condition in which the buyers desire them. In this con- 
dition they stand shipping well and are in good demand. At five 
cents per pound, the fruit from these three cherry trees this season 
will amount to fifty dollars. At this rate, an acre of this variety would 
yield $1120 gross. I have stated to my friends that if I had ten 
acres of cherry trees that would yield like these, I would need no 
other source of revenue. Cherries this year, 1899, have sold in Cleve- 
land at ten cents per pound wholesale. At Rochester they have been 
cheaper, owing to the large quantity of cherries growing in this local- 

ity. 

The Windsor cherry has fruited at Green's fruit farm this year and 
proved, as usual, to be a variety of extraordinary merit. It is a large 
cherry, almost black. It is not quite so firm as Black Tartarian, there- 
fore, possibly, not quite so valuable for shipping; but for eating out 
of hand it is, if anything, superior in quality to Black Tartarian. — 
Greeits Fruit Groiver. 



TO SPROUT CHERRY PITS. 

"Please let me know the best way to sprout plum, cherry and peach pits. I 
am in the nursery business on a small scale, and, although I have always put my 
seeds in beds in fall, have had trouble to get them to burst in the spring." — H. 
M. K., Newville, Pa. 

Our correspondent's trouble rises, perhaps, from not having the 
seeds moist enough in the seed-bed. If a seed-bed is too dry and not 
covered by snow, so that the seeds simply freeze dry, the results are 
not likely to be good. Stratify the seeds — that is, mix them with 
soil, or sand — and put into a convenient box, and bury box and all in 
some situation where they will keep moist through the winter and 
where they will freeze .well. In the spring sift out of the earth, and 
plant. Some prefer to go over them by hand in the spring and crack 
with a light hammer any which are not sufficiently oj)ened. This 
should give the desired result. 
—5 



66 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 



THE CHERRY ON DRY SOIL. 

The cherry tree needs a dry but rich and deep soil, with enough 
potash to supi^ly the enormous demand to ripen its crop of seeds and 
stones. The cherry itself is mainly water, but if the stone cannot be 
produced the fruit is apt to rot, especially in wet weather about the 
time of ripening. To make cherries profitable it requires something 
more than to grow them. A large amount of cheap help must be 
near at hand. One must also be situated near a market, canning fac- 
tory, or station to ship the fruit. The fruit must be picked dry and 
all imperfect specimens thrown out. Unripe cherries will not bear 
transportation as well as ripe ones ; hence they must not be picked 
too soon. When all the conditions are favorable, there is no crop that 
pays better and in seasons of scarcity gives a larger profit per acre. 



SOUR CHERRIES IN WESTERN NEW YORK. 

The growing of sour cherries in western New York is largely con- 
fined to two varieties, the Montmorency and English Morello, and it 
is not yet fully determined which of the two is the more profitable in 
the long run. The preference has generally been given to the English 
Morello, as it bears younger than the other, and its dark colored and 
very acid flesh have made it popular with the canning factories. Just 
now, however, the canners are calling for the Montmorency in pref- 
erence, for, whilst not so sour as the other in the natural state, it 
"cooks sour," and the Morello is apt to develop a bitterish or acid 
taste in the cans. The Morello is also much subject to leaf-blight, 
whilst the Montmorency is almost free from it ; and the Montmorency 
is a stronger and more upright grower. The present drift is decidedly 
towards the Montmorency. The two varieties complement each other, 
however, for the Montmorency is about gone by the time the other is 
fit to pick. 

This Montmorency of western New York is a very light red, long- 
stemmed cherry, broad, and flattened on the ends, the flesh nearly 
colorless and only moderately sour. The tree is an upright, vase-like 
grower. 

Amongst the Griottes, or red -juiced cherries, three have gained 
some notoriety in western New York — the Ostheim, Louis Philippe, 
and Morello. 

The Ostheim is a very productive variety, ripening about a week 
after Early Richmond, but it is too small and too early to be valuable 
for general cultivation here. 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 67 

The Morello, variously known as English, Large Dutch, and Ron- 
ald's Morello, is nearly two weeks later than Montmorency, a bushy 
and finally a drooping grower, with medium-sized, roundish or round- 
cordate fruits, which become red-black when fully ripe. Flesh very 
dark, much sourer than the Montmorency. In western New York 
the Morello harvest begins from the 8th to the middle of July. 



SWEET-CHERRY INDUSTRY. 

Unlike most other fruits, the sweet-cherry industry has never at- 
tained a prominent position in western New York. There is not an 
orchard of it west of Albany, so far as I know. Along the Hudson, 
however, there are three or four orchards. It is on the few trees 
scattered on every farm throughout the state that the cherry crop is 
mostly grown. It should not be thought however, that the smallness 
of the industry follows from a lack of appreciation of this most lus- 
cious fruit. It is due to the fact that the cherry is a most difficult 
crop to handle and market successfully, because of its exceedingly 
delicate character, and the fungus, which causes brown rot, which 
spreads so rapidly on the ripening fruit, that the promising crop of 
to-day may be half rotted to-morrow. The comparative ease of hand- 
ling and marketing grapes, apples and pears make those fruits univer- 
sally popular. The cherry is one of the most popular door-yard 
fruits, and its hardiness, its vigorous uimght form, which often at- 
tains the height of forty to fifty feet, and its luxuriant, soft, drooping 
foliage, its hardiness, and the fact that it bears annually when prop- 
erly treated, make it a most desirable tree for ornamental and fruit- 
bearing purposes. The tree starts very early in the season and most 
varieties are harvested by July 1, thus leaving the trees suflicient 
time and energy to perfect fruit-buds for the coming year ; and if the 
wood is well ripened in the fall the mercury may fall to twenty de- 
grees below zero without injury to the coming crop. There seems, 
to be much inquiry among fruit-growers and farmers regarding the- 
care of cherry orchards, the most desirable varieties, the diseases, the 
methods of handling and marketing the crop. As these matters are 
more fully understood, the cherry industry may be expected to reach 
a prominent position among the other horticultural industries. — 
Professor Bailey's Bulletin. 



68 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 



DKYING CHERRIES. 



In picking cherries for the market they should never be taken 
from the tree right after a rain. Many of them are cracked open, or 
ready to, and these will spoil the whole crate. Let the sun shine on 
them again before picking, and even let the birds pick the cracked cher- 
ries for their breakfast ; these they always prefer. After the sun has 
been on them a short time the surjDlus moisture will be dried and they 
can be picked for market. After picking, rigidly sort, for the best pick- 
ers will put in overripe, decayed and stemless fruit. These help rot 
the others and thus labor is thrown away. Put only the finest cher- 
ries in each basket, all of about the same riiDeness and size. JVfany 
placed on sale show one-half of the cherry dead ripe and the other 
half green. The appearance, if nothing else, is against them. It is 
always better for the trees and profitable to the owner to have all the 
fruit picked from the trees. There will be times when it will hardly 
pay to ship them to market, and best to dispose of them some other 
way. Make a platform of boards, in the sun, and dry the surplus. 
It is easy to pit them, and in half a day bushels could be spread out to 
dry. Many overripe cherries, that cannot be shipped, can be dried, 
and the surplus thus preserved. Dried cherries are quoted in the 
markets now at nine and ten cents per pound, and good qualities 
bring even more. There is always a demand for them in the winter ; 
they make excellent pies, puddings, and preserves. If there is no 
other market, many can be eaten at home. It is by means similar to 
this that the cherry crop must be disposed of ; it prolongs the season 
and brings a fair profit to the owner. Preparations for drying should 
be made before the crop is ripe, for then other work will demand the 
attention. — S. W. Chambers, in Ainerlcan Cultivator. 



HOW TO SAVE YOUR CHERRIES. 

Persons having a few trees of cherries they would like to have get 
thoroughly ripe, and prevent the birds getting all of them, can do so 
by hanging a bell in each tree — a cow-bell, sheep-bell, or an old 
school-bell, any of them will do ; and they are generally lying around 
farm-houses. Tie long pieces of binder twine to the handle of each 
bell, and bring the other ends all together in the direction of the 
house, and tie all to one strand of twine, so that by pulling it all the 
bells will ring. Have this line long enough to tie the other end to a 
nail near the kitchen door, or some convenient place where it can be 
given frequent pulls. When you ring the bells the birds will leave 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 69 

in short order. Of course they will return, but you must give them 
another ring, and keep it up frequently till the cherries are ripe, be- 
ginning when the birds begin on the cherries. We have succeeded 
numerous times in this way, even when the trees are more than twenty 
rods from the house. Try this plan. Do not shoot your good friends, 
the birds. 



THE CHEERY A NOBLE FRUIT. 

This noble fruit has for a long time been kept in the background 
for the growing of the apple, peach, etc., on account, I suppose, of the 
inability to market the crop to good advantage ; the main reason for 
which, no doubt, is in not selecting varieties which ripen in succession. 
The question of growing the cherry into a tree is far less important 
to the orchardist than the proper selection of varieties, and the care 
and management of it after it is planted where it is to remain. Within 
the past few years a number of new varieties have been brought before 
the public, but most of them have proved to be wanting in hardiness 
or quality, and were discarded. The Montmorency is perhaps an ex- 
ception, the tree being hardy and the fruit somewhat better than the 
Early Richmond; yet we consider the Early Richmond the best all- 
round cherry, with Montmorency a close second, and have therefore 
divided our orchard between these two, in order to have a succession 
of ripening, thus affording greater ease in disposing of the crop. 
Have tried May Duke, Ostheim, Wragg and Dyehouse without suc- 
cess. 



GRAFTING THE CHERRY. 

By Prof. N. E. Hansen, Ames, Iowa, in Nebraska Horticultural Society report. 

Root-grafting of the cherry in the house during winter is consid- 
ered difficult by many, but it has been practiced at the Iowa Agricul- 
tural College, at Ames, every winter for many years, with good 
success. For plums, one-year seedlings of our native northern plum, 
Prunus americana, are used, which are grown from pits of the best 
cultivated varieties of the same species, such as Wyant, De Soto, and 
Wolf. Seedlings should not be grown from seeds gathered indis- 
criminately in the woods, but only from trees growing good-sized 
fruit. It has been found such seedlings are better and more uniform, 
and there is less liability to injurious influence of stock on scion. In 
the last two or three winters we have also used Marianna stocks, grown 
from cuttings, for root-grafting, and secured a good stand. For cher- 
ries, imjjorted Mazzard stocks are used. Both plum and cherry stocks 
are packed away in thin layers, with earth between the layers, in a 



70 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

cool cellar. Only one scion is used to each root ; piece-root grafting 
does not give a good stand with the plum and cherry. 

The method used is that known as "side-graftiiig" or "wedge- 
grafting," and the scion is inserted at the collar. By collar, is meant 
the neck or line of junction between the stem and root. The scion is 
cut wedge shaped at the lower end with a perfectly true and straight 
cut, so it will fit snugly into the incision in the stock. The length of 
this wedge cut, one and one-half to two inches, depends on the size 
of the scion, a large scion requiring a long cut. The scion should 
contain about four buds besides the bud at the base or beginning of 
the wedge cut. The stock should have a ring of bark left above the 
incision. No wood is removed from the incision — simply a lateral cut 
long enough to receive the scion, cutting about two-thirds through 
the stock ; and care is exercised to cut across the grain slightly, so as 
to avoid splitting the wood. Use a sharp, thin-bladed knife ; a com- 
mon shoe knife does as good work as any. If the incision in the stock 
is properly made, the scion will be held very firmly by the natural 
spring or elasticity of the wood. In cutting the scion, make the in- 
side of the wedge cut thinner than the outside, so that the scion will 
fit neatly ; but this is often overdone, so that there is too great pres- 
sure on the cambium layer ( layer between the wood and bark ) for 
proper union. So, make the inside of the wedge cut very slightly, if 
at all, thinner than the ouiside. The vital point to be noticed is that 
the inner barks of the scion and stock must be brought together, so 
the union can be made when growth begins. 

Some device must be used to hold the seedling firmly while mak- 
ing the incision. The most convenient one for the grafting bench is 
simply half of a barrel stave fastened at the further end with a leather 
hinge. At the end next the grafter a strong wire is fastened around 
and passed through a hole in the grafting bench and fastened to a 
treadle below. In this manner the seedling is held very firmly. To 
prevent injury to the seedling, put a strip of leather on points of con- 
tact on inner edges of the stave and on top edge of grafting bench. 

Three men work best together — two to graft, and one to wind, wax, 
and pack. After grafting, the point of union is wound three or four 
times at top and bottom with waxed thread, and alcoholic plastic ap- 
plied with the thumb and finger. The plastic must also be applied to 
the tip-of the scion to prevent drying out. The grafts as waxed are 
run through sand so they will not stick together, and then packed 
away in a mixture of about one half sand and one-half earth, in boxes, 
in the cellar or cave, same as apple-root grafts, keeping the tempera- 
ture as near freezing as possible, to prevent injury from the graft-box 
fungus. Even if frozen in the boxes no harm is done. The waxed 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 71 

thread is made of No. 18 knitting cotton run through melted wax onto 
an open drum, or hollow cylinder of wood, with a crank handle at- 
tached. The wax is softened with a little linseed oil. 

Recipe for alcoholic plastic : One pound white resin, one ounce 
beef tallow, one tablespoonful turpentine, five or six ounces alcohol. 
Melt resin slowly ; take from fire and add tallow, stirring constantly. 
When still cooler add turpentine slowly, then alcohol. Wood or 
methyl alcohol is cheaper than common alcohol, and, as tried at the 
college, seems to answer the purpose equally well. It is poisonous, 
and should be so labeled. If the plastic becomes too stitf to work 
well, put vessel in a vessel of hot water and add more alcohol. The 
plastic should be of the consistency of thin syrup in order to work 
well. 

The scions are kept in boxes of dry forest leaves in the cellar ; the 
leaves contain sufficient moisture to keep the scions in good condition. 
The scions must be watched and not allowed to get either too plump 
or too shriveled, but better a little shriveled than too plump. 

With all stone fruits side-grafting is much preferable to whip- 
grafting. By comparing the two methods it will be seen that the 
side-graft has two surfaces on the scion to unite by, while the whip- 
graft has but one. In the nursery the side-graft can be used in the 
spring in crown-grafting seedlings, where the bud failed the preced- 
ing autumn. Side-grafting is also the best for all top-grafting of 
plum and cherry. For outdoor work, the vessel containing the alcohol 
plastic is set in the top of a large lantern-shaped tin box with a lamp 
inside. The terms "top-grafting" and "top- working" are the same, 
the latter being more generally used in nursery work. It is most 
convenient for tw^o men to work together — one to graft and the other 
to apply the plastic. 

Plums and cherries should be grafted before there is the least sign 
of the buds starting ; hence, pleasant days in March should be im- 
proved in this manner. However, they may be grafted after the buds 
have started, provided that the scions have started equally as much. 
But in general it is best to graft the stone fruits early, before the buds 
have started. No waxed thread is used in top-grafting. After insert- 
ing the scion, apply the alcoholic plastic to the point of union and 
wrap with a strip of old, thin, white muslin. The muslin will adhere 
to the slightly warm plastic and no thread is needed for tying. The 
exposed tip of the scion must be touched with the plastic to prevent 
drying out. The "robbers" or sprouts appearing on the stem below 
the graft must be removed from time to time as they appear, so the 
scion will have a fair chance for vigorous growth. If this is not done 



72 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

the scion will make but a feeble growth, or perish altogether, from 
lack of nutriment. 

In top-grafting young trees in the nursery it will not do to strip 
all the leaves appearing on the stem below the graft. All the buds 
for a short distance just below the point of union should be allowed 
to expand, in order to "draw up the sap" and cause vigorous growth. 
If these buds push too strongly, keep in check by pinching. As the 
graft grows these leaves on the stock can be gradually removed, be- 
ginning with the buds next to the graft. In top-working plums and 
cherries, the outer bark often becomes tough and dry, so it will not 
exjDand to make room for the deposit of new wood in June. The graft 
is then in danger of perishing from tight lacing, and the corset strings 
must be cut. Do this by slitting the bark lengthwise in several places, 
taking care not to cut into the wood, as this is apt to cause gumming. 



THE CHERKY ORCHARD. 

A strong, loamy soil, and one which is retentive of moisture, is the 
most suitable for sour cherries. The fruit contains such a large 
amount of water that it is necessary to save the moisture of the soil 
to the greatest possible extent. Dry clay knolls produce cherries of 
less size and of inferior quality than the moister depressions between 
them. Very early and thorough cultivation is essential to this con- 
servation of moisture, and the tillage should be continued at fre- 
quent intervals until the fruit is about ripe. In order to be able to 
cultivate the soil at the earliest moment in the spring, the land 
should be either naturally or artificially well drained. The crop of 
even the Morellos is off the trees in July, so that there is abundant 
opportunity to sow a catch-crop on the orchard for a winter cover, if 
the manager so desires. A variety of plants may be used for this 
cover. The best is probably Crimson clover, particularly if the 
orchard needs more nitrogen or growth ; and if American-grown 
seed is sown by the middle of August in a well-prepared soil, the 
cover will probably jjass the winter safely. Other plants which 
may be used for cover are rye, winter wheat, vetch, field pea, 
sowed corn, millet, and buckwheat. Of these, only the two first will 
live through the winter and grow in the spring. In using cover 
crops which survive the winter, it is very imjDortant that they be 
turned under just as soon as the ground is dry enough in spring. 
As soon as the plant begins to grow it evaporates moisture and dries 
out the soil ; and it is more important, as a rule, to save this moisture 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 73 

than it is to secure the extra herbage which would result from delay. 
This is especially true with the sour cherry, which matures its product 
so early in the season, and which profits so much by a liberal and 
constant supply of soil moisture. Plowing can also be begvin earlier 
on land which has a sowed crop upon it, because of the drying action 
of the croi3. The fertilizers which give best results with other or- 
chard fruits may be expected to yield equally good returns with the 
cherry. 

It is an almost universal fault to plant cherry trees too close to- 
gether. The Montmorency should not be planted closer than eighteen 
feet each way in orchard blocks, although it is often set as close as 
twelve feet. The English Morello is a more bushy grower and may, 
perhaps, be set as close as sixteen feet with success ; but I believe that 
even this variety should stand eighteen feet ai^art. The sour cherry 
orchards in western New York are yet so young that the evil effects 
of close planting have not yet been made apparent. I find, however, 
that nearly every shrewd orchardist who has had experience with 
these fruits is convinced that the general planting is too close. — From 
Cornell Bulletin. 



WHERE TO PLANT CHERRIES. 

The two great classes of cherries differ widely in their adaptability 
to the conditions of the climate and soil. The sour class is far the 
most hardy of constitution, both as to heat and cold. They also flourish 
on more varieties of soil than the sweet class. The soil and climate 
that suit the sweet cherries are good for the sour kinds too, but not 
vice versa. 

The sour varieties delight in a rich loamy soil that has considerable 
clay in it and one that does not easily dry out ; however, the soil 
should not be wet. The sweet kinds require a looser and more mel- 
low soil ; one that is sandy or gravelly is good if well enriched, but it 
may be made too rich, and thus induce too late and tender growth. 
The cherry should mature its wood early. 

The sour cherries will grow in almost any climate that will suit the 
apple, but on the prairies of the Northwest it is only some of the 
hardiest Russian kinds that can endure the rigors of the winter, and 
these cannot always succeed. The sweet class find their most con- 
genial climate in North America in the milder regions of Oregon and 
Washington. In California they also do well. In the foot-hills of 
the Blue Ridge and Alleghany mountains and along the Hudson 
river they do best in the Eastern states. In the Mississippi valley 
they are liable to die early from the effects of the violent changes of 



74 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

temperature. A mild, equable, moist climate suits them best, but not 
a hot one. 

Twenty-five or thirty feet is none too far for the sweet kinds, but 
the smaller-growing Amarelles and Morellos will do very well at 
eighteen feet, or even closer in some places where the soil and season 
do not stimulate a vigorous growth. 

It is useless to expect to grow cherries profitably either for market 
or home use for a long period without giving them thorough and 
clean cultivation. The soil should be kept as clean as a garden up 
to the time the fruit is rij^e ; soon after that their wood is mature 
and cultivation may be stopped. If the trees lack vigor, a catch-crop 
of Crimson clover, cow-peas, buckwheat or even rye may be sown, but 
it must be turned under very early in the spring, and the stirring of 
the soil resumed. The cherry is very sensitive to severe pruning, and 
the trees should be well looked after when they are young to get them 
headed low enough for convenience and properly formed ; then little 
will be needed afterwards. The cutting of large branches is very 
dangerous at any time. 

The universal plan in gathering cherries is to leave the stems at- 
tached to the fruit, except, rarely, for local sale or home use. Small 
packages have x^roven decidedly more profitable to carry them to 
market than large ones. Quart berry boxes and shallow trays put up 
in crates are better than grape baskets, according to the latest ex- 
perience. — Prof. 11. E. Van Deman. 



THE DYEHOUSE AND EAKLY RICHMOND CHERRIES. 

The difference in the fruit of the two varieties is not a great deal 
until both are ripe, though Dyehouse generally ripens a week or ten 
days in advance of Early Richmond. But the fully ripe fruit of Dye- 
house is superior to the fully ripe fruit of Early Richmond. Another 
difference, as noted by Professor Powell, of the Delaware station 
(bulletin No. 85), is in the juice of Dyehouse being somewhat dark 
colored, while that of Early Richmond is colorless. Both varieties 
are profuse bearers, and Dyehouse is jarobably the earliest bearer of 
all fruit-trees ; young trees, two years old, quite frequently bear in 
the nursery rows. Both varieties are valuable for localities in which 
the sweet cherries are not generally successful; and Dyehouse is valu- 
able for any locality and in any collection, considering its excellence 
for pies, for canning, and, when fully ripe, for eating right from the 
tree. It has also the smallest j)it of all cherries. 

Dyehouse, as many of our readers know, originated in central Ken- 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 75 

tucky. an accidental seedling in the orchard of the person whose name 
it bears. This was years ago, when the people there had heard little 
or nothing about budding or grafting, and increased the stock of their 
favorite and never-failing cherry by sprouts dug up from the roots of 
the parent tree. And some prefer these sprouts still, though the rea- 
son of their preference is hardly clear. Finally, after thirty years of 
continuous bearing — every year with one exception, when a late frost 
destroyed the young fruit, then about the size of peas — Mr. Henry 
T. Harris, a person who had experience with choice fruits, came across 
it and introduced it to the public. 

Since that time — over twenty years ago — it has demonstrated its 
excellence in various parts of the country. North as well as South, 
East and West, even in Minnesota and Canada. 

There is one peculiarity attending the propagation of the trees of 
Dyehouse : the buds frequently do not succeed, failing to become at- 
tached to the stock, and consequently dying. Why this is so is diffi- 
cult to say, but it afPects only the nurseryman. 



CLASSES AND VARIETIES OF CHERRIES. 

Of cherries there are at least three distinct classes : the Morellos, 
Dukes, and Hearts. The Morellos are all sour and the trees flourish 
and bear in almost every part of the country. The Dukes are tart in 
flavor and the trees are quite sensitive to climatic variations, and re- 
quire a region where the changes are not severe, being neither very 
hot in summer nor very cold in winter. The Hearts are still more 
difficult to grow, except where the climate is peculiarly suited to them, 
which is on the Pacific slope, in the Piedmont sections of the Appa- 
lachian mountain ranges, and in the vicinity of the great lakes. In 
those places they seem to flourish, especially in Oregon and Califor- 
nia, where the most productive trees and the largest and most perfect 
fruit are grown. 

Morellos : Dyehouse, Richmond, Montmorency, Philippe, English, 
Wragg. Dukes: May Dake, Late Duke, Choisy, Olivet, Hortense, 
Magnifique. Hearts : Black Tartarian, Napoleon, Tartarian, Mercer, 
Windsor. 

Commercial cherry growing is not practiced by many this side of 
Calif ore ia and Oregon. There is opportunity for much more in that 
line than is done in the Eastern states ; especially is this true of the 
Heart and sweet varieties, which are well suited to the certain sections 
already mentioned. 



76 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 



CHERRY ORCHARDS FOR PROFIT. 

It is the opinion of Professor Bailey that cherry culture has not 
received the attention it deserves in this state. It is his opinion 
that cherry orchards can be made exceedingly profitable here. Pro- 
fessor Bailey laments the fact that there are scarcely any cherry 
orchards in New York state, and that cherry growing as a business is 
scarcely known here. He can see, however, a growing interest in 
cherries, occasioned by the success of California fruit-growers in 
marketing large quantities of California cherries in our large cities 
and towns at profitable prices, after paying enormous freight-charges 
for 3000 miles shipment. In California orchards of 50 to 100 acres 
of cherries are not uncommon, but who ever heard of such orchards 
in the Eastern or Middle states; and yet we have land and climate 
particularly adapted to cherry growing. 

Cherry growing in the Eastern and Middle states is often confined 
to a few straggling trees in the door-yard or along the fence-rows, 
where they receive no cultivation ; the owners at no expense for the 
cherries thus produced. When the fruit ripens the owners are not 
informed as to the proper methods of gathering, marketing, or the 
best packages. The cherries are hastily and roughly plucked from 
the tree, often with stems pulled out of the fruit, thrown into large 
baskets, and sold promiscuously without grading, and dumped into 
the market in this unsightly conditition, to bring whatever the ship- 
per may offer. The shipper who buys these ill-assorted and poorly 
gathered cherries immediately assorts the fruit, packing the best in 
boxes, similar to those used by the California growers, selling the 
second grade to local pie makers, and throwing the culls away. Surely 
all this work should be done by the fruit-grower. If he should prop- 
erly manage he would realize twice as much profit. 

There is a growing demand for cherries for eating out of the hand, 
for pie making, and for canning. An acre of cherries under cultiva- 
tion will yield an enormous quantity of fruit. This fruit need not be 
gathered the day it ripens. The Black Tartarian cherry on my jDlace 
at Rochester hangs on the tree a month. And yet there is a time when 
cherries for market should be picked, and that is before they become 
fully matured or colored. 

Many people are deterred from planting cherry orchards owing to 
the fact that considerable help is necessary to gather a crop of cher- 
ries, and yet there is scarcely any locality where suflScient help can- 
not be secured. All such enterprises as this require business ability 
in the management of labor, in the production of fine fruit, in suit- 
able packages, and preparation for market. But I doubt if any enter- 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 77 

prising young man would hesitate to plant a cherry orchard for this 
reason. One of the good things of our fruit-growing is that it de- 
velops business ability. 



A BIG CHERRY TREE. 

In California there is a Black Tartarian cherry tree, thirty-five years 
old, that is probably the most productive tree of the kind in the world. 
The body of the tree four feet from the ground is eleven and one-half 
feet in circumference, and in one year one and one-half tons of cher- 
ries were marketed, and besides considerable fruit was used by the 
owner and much was given away. The quality of this cherry is ex- 
cellent. We get this item direct from Rev. R. M. Tunnell, recently 
from California, who thinks this cherry would do well in this Ozark 
country. 

CHERRIES IN THE WEST. 

There is no fruit that gives more satisfaction to the grower than 
the cherry. True, the sour cherries are the only ones to plant. The 
sweets and Bigarreaus do not succeed in our climate. To plant them 
is sure failure. I know this by experience, as I have planted hundreds 
without ever seeing them ripen fruit. 

With the sour varieties it is different. I believe there is no place 
where they do better than here. We have at this time over 4000 
planted and are still planting. Of varieties there are a number, and 
to secure a continuance I would name Dyehouse, Early Richmond, 
Montmorency, Ostheim, English Morello, and Wragg. All are good 
and early bearers. 

Cherries require dry, good soil. Unless you have well-drained soil 
it will cause you disappointment. On the proper soils the trees are 
as long-lived as the apple. I know some trees planted here thirty 
years ago that are still productive. Do not cultivate after the trees 
are well established. The fruit sets and ripens in a stiff blue-grass 
sod as when cultivated. We simply mow the grass, allowing it to rot 
on the ground. One gre»t mistake in growing cherries is in heading 
the trees too high. I made this mistake with the first 300 trees, set in 
187G. It requires long ladders to pick the fruit. We now try to keep 
them down to bush form. It is so much easier to pick the fruit and 
far less liability of breaking the trees. I have named six varieties in 
their order of ripening. There is a German cherry here earlier than 
Dyehouse by at least four days. We call it "Jerusalem." It may be 
identical with Early Morello. A Mr. Saur brought it from "father- 



78 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

land." Dyehouse originated in Kentucky, and is a week earlier than 
Richmond. I think it better — its seeds are smaller. The Wragg is 
an Iowa product, being hardy and bearing young. I had one-year-old 
trees ripen this variety last year. I think the Dyehouse and Wragg 
indispensable, as the latter is late and, holding fruit well, it lengthens 
the season about two weeks. — Western Fruit Groioer. 



CHERRY ORCHARD EXPERIENCE. 

Cherries are usually set when two years old from the bud. The 
sour varieties are propagated both upon Mazzard and Mahaleb stocks, 
chiefly the latter, but the comparative merits of the two are not de- 
termined. The tops are started about three or four feet high, and the 
subsequent pruning is very like that given the plum. If the young 
trees make a very strong growth and tend to become top-heavy, head- 
ing in may be practiced ; but this operation is not considered to be 
necessary after the trees begin to bear. Cherry trees require less at- 
tention to pruning than apple trees and peach trees do. 

The English Morello will bear a fair crop the third year after set- 
ting, if two-year trees are planted. The Montmorency is a year or 
two later in coming into bearing. The Montmorency, partly because 
of its larger growth, produces much more fruit than the other, when 
it arrives at full bearing. Individual trees of Montmorency at six 
years and upwards may bear from thirty to seventy-five pounds of 
fruit ; but eight to ten tons of marketable fruit are an excellent crop 
on an orchard of 800 Montmorencys eight }■ ears planted ; that is an 
average of twenty to twenty-five pounds to the tree. The Morellos, 
because of their dark color, usually sell better than the Montmorency 
in the open market, but the reverse is now generally true if the crop 
is sold to canning factories, This year the factories have paid five 
and six cents a pound for Montmorencys. It is easy to figure the 
proceeds of an acre. At 18 x 18 feet, an acre will comprise about 130 
trees. If, at eight years, they yield twenty pounds each, the crop 
would amount to 2600 pounds, which at five cents means $130. This 
is a conservative estimate. Benjamin Kean, Seneca, has 200 Mont- 
morency trees six years set. He has had three crops, one of 1400 
pounds, one of 3000 pounds, and one 3100 pounds. He sold his entire 
crop this year for five cents, making a gross income of $155. His 
trees are set 10x12 feet, which allows about 360 to the acre. In 
other words, a crop which sold for over $150 was taken from less than 
two-thirds of an acre. The soil in this case seems to be unusually 
well adapted to this cherry and the crops have, therefore, been excel- 
lent ; but, on the other hand, part of the crop was destroyed this year 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 79 

by the curculio. C. H. Perkins, Newark, has thirty-five trees, eight 
and twelve years old, all Montmorency. "They bear," he writes, 
"from 2000 to 3500 pounds of cherries per year, and the average price 
that we get for them is six cents. They net us from $100 to $175 a 
year. They are the most regular and sure cropper of any fruit we 
have ever tried to grow, and the fruit always finds a ready market at a 
good price." The Maxwell orchard, at Geneva, yielded over eleven tons 
of Montmorency, this year, from 800 trees. — Ithaca, N. Y., Bulletin. 



PROFITS OF THE CHERRY CROP. 

The profits from the cherry industry depend mainly on the effor 
of the grower in producing first-class fruit and in placing it on t 
market somewhat after the directions given. In 1888 an acre of cherry 
trees, eighteen years old, including Black Tartarian, Black Eagle, Na- 
poleon Bigarreau, Elton, Yellow Spanish, and Downer's Late Red, 
netted $380, while an acre of rye netted eight dollars. 

The following sample figures are taken from sales from the orchard 
this season, trees twenty-five years old : 

Five trees of Robert's Red Heart averaged 280 pounds per tree; the 

fruit sold for nine cents per pound, bringing ^25 20 

The expenses were: 

Picking $2 80 

Packages 1 40 

Packing 1 25 

Express 2 80 

Commission 2 52 

10 77 

Net profit per tree $14 43 

One tree of Robert's Red Heart yielded 416 pounds, which sold to retail 

dealers at ten cents per pound at the express office $41 60 

Expenses : 

Picking $4 16 

Packages 1 56 

Packing 1 75 

7 47 

Net profit $34 13 

One acre of Windsors, containing seventy trees, eight years old, yielded 
eighty-four pounds per tree — 5880 pounds — which sold at ten cents 

per pound $588 00 

Expenses: 

Picking $58 80 

Assorting and packing 20 00 

Packages 30 00 

Express and commission 70 00 

Cultivation ( plowed once and harrowed six times) 3 50 

Fertilizers (300 pounds potash, 100 pounds bone, 15 pounds 

Crimson clover seed ) 4 25 

Interest on land, at $150 per acre 9 00 

195 55 

Net profit $392 45 



80 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

All these figures refer to sales in the open market. There is a good 
demand for sweet cherries for canning factories. The canners gen- 
erally prefer the "white cherries" — those with a white juice and 
rather light-colored skin. The crop of sweet canning cherries in 
western New York appears to be growing smaller, and the California 
product has driven out much of the home-made goods. One of the 
best informed canners in the western part of the state writes as fol- 
lows concerning the sweet-cherry pack : "Up to six or seven years 
ago, we handled from fifty to one hundred tons annually. The cherry 
crop appears to be growing smaller each year, and to be deteriorating 
very much in quality." The canners tell us, in general, that when 
they can get good fruit they have no trouble in making a salable 
product. — From Cornell Bulletin. 



FOUR PROFITABLE CHERRY TREES, 

When we purchased our city place last fall, we were informed by 
the owner that the four large cherry trees growing there had produced 
him one crop that yielded seventy dollars, and that one tree yielded 
twenty dollars' worth of cherries. This seemed to me a very large 
story, but as he related it after the place had been purchased. I had 
no reason to disbelieve it. I have had the pleasure to test these four 
cherry trees. Three of them are Black Tartarian and the other Na- 
poleon, a white cherry, very firm flesh ; in great demand for canning 
and shipping. These trees are loaded down wnth beautiful cherries ; 
making a rough calculation at the low price of four cents per pound, 
I should judge that ten dollars' worth of cherries per tree might have 
been sold from those trees ; but aside from the market value of the 
fruit, these trees were a constant delight to the children and other 
members of the family for the shade which the broad leaves furnished, 
the beauty of the blossoms and the display of brilliant fruit as it 
ripened. I can heartily recommend the cherry tree to any home 
ground. It suceeeds without cultivation, is long-lived, and in every 
way desirable. Cherry culture for market does not receive the atten- 
tion in the East which it should. It is clear that any one who has an 
acre or more of cherries can receive a very nice income from the 
fruit. It should be taken into consideration that it requires consid- 
erable help to pick the fruit. We pay one cent per pound and sell 
them for four and five cents per pound, but many get them picked for 
one-half cent per pound or less. One hunch'ed pounds is a day's work. 
Cherries must not be permitted to get too ripe before picking, if it is 
designed to ship far. 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 81 



GREAT CHEERY ORCHARD. 

Probably there is no better-known ranch, and certainly there are 
few larger, in the state of California, than that owned by the Meek 
estate, says the San Francisco Wave. It is situated a little way out- 
side the city of Oakland, and it covers a huge tract of land between 
San Lorenzo and Haywards. It is spread over 3300 acres of some 
of the finest fruit-bearing country on the Pacific coast. A thousand 
acres of this extent is in fruit, for the most part cherries. 

The ranch is owned and controlled by the two Meek brothers and 
their sisters, how skilfully may be known from the fact that, in spite 
of hard times and a depressed market, there has never been a year 
when it has not paid, and paid liberally. A full crop of cherries from 
this wonderful orchard will bring its owners anywhere from $30,000 
to $35,000. 

During the cherry-picking season a little army of pickers toil from 
tree to tree, stripping the branches like a swarm of locusts. 

The sight is picturesque, for the pickers come by families and live 
in the orchard, in a small village of tents. At the height of the sea- 
son nearly 150 pickers are employed. They are of all ages and both 
sexes, as the work is of such a nature that it can be performed as well 
by women as by men — as well by a ten-year-old girl as by a grown 
man. The pickers are, of course, boarded at the expense of the ranch, 
and beside are paid from seventy-five cents to one dollar per day, so 
that a wife and two or three children can make as much money during 
the few weeks of the i^icking season as the head of the house can 
earn during the entire year. 

After the picking, the cherries are taken over to the i^acking- house 
and handled at once. The riper cherries are sorted out and put upon 
local markets, while the more backward are shipped East. The force 
of packers can dispose of 420 boxes per day. Two thousand boxes go 
to the car-load and must be hurried to their destination as speedily as 
possible, for there is no fruit that loses its flavor quicker by over- 
keeping than the cherry. For the same reason the boxes must be 
rapidly marketed, for they will not keep many hours in the heat of 
an Eastern summer. There are plenty of difficulties in the way of 
getting the California cherry ujjon the dining table of the Eastern 
consumer, but, with ordinary care and a fair season, the prices obtain- 
able are not bad. In Chicago a ten-pound box of California cherries 
can be made to bring a dollar, if properly handled, while in New 
York, though the Eastern local market comes into competition, the 
same quality will sometimes sell for twelve cents per pound. 

—6 



82 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 



INSECTS ON THE CHEERY. 

By Prof. J. M. Stbdman, of Missouri. 

There are not so many insects which prey ujoon the cherry as upon 
the apple. The New York weevil and the imbricated snout beetle 
feed on the young and tender bark and foliage and sometimes upon 
the buds before they open in the spring. We know little of the life- 
history of these insects and must fight them upon the tree itself. At 
a time when the trees are leaved out it is difficult to reach the twigs 
which are covered with the leaves, but it can be held somewhat in 
check by spraying with the arsenate of lead. 

Tent-caterpillars of both species work on cherry trees, and can be 
fought as spoken of in the apple. The fall web- worm can be twisted 
out with a forked stick if you take it in time. The cherry borer is 
found only in a few localities. It is not general in the state. It is 
difficult to fight in a very successful way. Use the same wash that I 
recommended for apple borers. 

Cherry leaves are eaten by a number of lepidopterous insects 
Spray with arsenate of lead in preference to Paris green, London 
purple, arsenate of lime, or soda. 

To make arsenate of lead, use eleven ounces of acetate of lead and 
four ounces of white arsenic to fifty or seventy-five gallons of water. 
This formula is for any biting insects on the cherry. The leaf- 
crumpler will damage the cherry more than the apple. The canker- 
worm also feeds upon the cherry. Give all of them the arsenate of lead. 

The curculio is difficult to fight ; much more so than in the case of 
the plum. It makes the wormy cherries. These do not drop from 
the tree like the plum, but hang on and ripen with the good cherries. 
It is often difficult to distinguish them from the good ones till you 
eat them. Cherry trees are usually too large to jar successfully. 
Spraying does not pay, rarely reaching fifty per cent, of them. Birds 
can keep these insects in check. 



A CURCULIO PREVENTIVE. 

Clear the ground under the trees of undergrowth of any nature, 
then stir the soil about one inch deep, and apply on top ( in early 
spring, before any fruit is eet, or, if soil will permit the working, be- 
fore bloom falls) the following: One bushel of air-slaked lime, one 
bushel of wood ashes, two pounds of concentrated lye, two pounds of 
copperas, ten pounds of sulphur, one package of salt ; mix with a hoe, 
and apply through an old sieve. Protect the hands while applying it, 
or they will suffer much. — Rural World. 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 83 



DISEASES OF THE CHERRY. 

Leaf-spot. — The cherry suffers from a "shot-hole" disease simi- 
lar to those which riddle the leaves of the peach and plum. Indeed, 
this identical fungus attacks the plum as well as cherry, though not 
so badly. Its botanical name is Septoria cerasina. This fungus ap- 
pears on the leaves in early summer as dark brown or blackish circu- 
lar spots, which soon fall away, leaving the holes. The fungus attaclis 
only the leaves. In central Carolina it usually entirely defoliates 
the trees by August 1. The spores of the fungus live through the 
winter in the diseased leaves of the jjrevious season. 

Remedies : Gather up and burn all diseased leaves as soon as they 
fall. Spray in spring just before the buds start, with the copper su- 
crate mixture. Spray again when leaves are one-half grown, with the 
liver of sulphur solution. RejDeat this in two or three weeks. Pre- 
ventive treatment is necessary with this pest, and, therefore, the first 
two treatments must be given in time and with carefulness. It must 
be remembered that this disease attacks both plum and cherry, and 
may be communicated from one to the other. 

Mildew of Cherry. — The cherry is attacked by two species of 
mildews, namely, Podosphmra cerasl and P. trldactyla. They attack 
the leaves only, producing on one or both sides a white, powdery 
covering, something like the powdery mildew of the grape. The 
spores of the fungus pass the winter in the diseased leaves of the 
preceding season. 

Remedies : Gather and burn all leaves as soon as they fall. Spray 
once before the buds burst, with the copper sucrate mixture. As soon 
as the leaves are half-grown, spray with the liver of sulphur solution. 
Repeat in two weeks. This will probably suffice. 



CURCULIO. 

From Bulletin No. 65, Utah Experiment Station. 

This pest is very injurious to plums, cherries, peaches, and apricots. 
The mature insect is a dull gray, rough-backed beetle, about three- 
sixteenths of an inch long. As soon as the tiny fruits are formed the 
female beetle is on hand to "sting " them. "Stinging" consists of the 
female puncturing the skin, then depositing an egg in the puncture, 
and cutting a crescent-shaped slit at one side and beneath the egg. 
It is then in a little flap and will not be crushed by the development 
of the fruit. In about a week the egg hatches and the larva tunnels 
to the pit, where it feeds for from three to five weeks, and then escapes 



84 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

and enters the ground to a depth of a few inches. Here it transforms 
to the pupa stage, from which it changes to a mature insect in three 
or four weeks. The beetle spends the winter under any rubbish or 
under the rough bark of trees. 

Remechj : The universal practice is to catch the beetles by jarriug. There are 
several methods of doing this, the most ordinary of which is to spread a sheet or 
pieces of canvas on the ground beneath the tree and strike the limbs with a padded 
mallet. When disturbed the insects play " possum " and drop on the sheet, from 
which they are readily collected and destroyed. 

A more improved method used in commercial orchards is a two-wheeled cart 
upon which is built a light frame in the position of the ribs of an inverted um- 
brella. Over this frame is spread a canvas, the center part of which is two or 
more feet lower than the edge. The canvas has an opening at the center, below 
which is fastened a zinc box about one foot in length, breadth, and depth. On 
the front side of the canvas is an opening wide enough to accommodate the trunk 
when the cart is pushed under the tree. A few jars with a padded mallet dis- 
lodge the beetles and they drop on the canvas, from which they are swept into the 
box below, after which they may be killed in whatever manner is most convenient. 
The jarring should be begun as soon as the petals fall and be continued as long 
as any insects are caught. It is best done in the morning while the insects are 
quiet ; later in the day they become active and fly away when disturbed. 

Spraying with poisons is also recommended, but with varying results, by dif- 
ferent experimenters. Paris green, London purple, or green arsenoid, one pound, 
with from three to five pounds of freshly slaked lime, in 250 gallons of water, 
should be applied first when the leaf buds are opening. The second application 
should be given as soon as the petals fall, and a third about ten days later. The 
poison may be combined with Bordeaux mixture at the rate of one pound to 250 
gallons when the latter is used against the shot-hole fungus. 



CHERRY SLUG. {Eriocampa m'«.s'i Peck.) 

The pear slug is exceedingly injurious to pear and cherry foliage, 
'eating the upper side and tissue of the leaves. The remaining parts 
are practically destroyed and soon assume a brown and scorched ap- 
pearance. The mature insect is a small saw-fly, which might be mis- 
taken for an ordinary house-fly. 

Remedy : In the early part of the season, before tlie fruit is half 
grown, green arsenoid, Paris green or London purple may be used, at 
the rate of one pound to 160 to 200 gallons of water, adding three 
pounds of lime. After this do not use the above poisons for fear of 
injuring the fruit for food, but instead apply fresh hellebore, one 
ounce to two gallons of water. Hellebore may be used any time dur- 
ing the season, even when the fruit is ripening. Spraying must be 
done often enough to hold the worms in check. 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 



85 



CURCULIO IN CHERRIES. 

By H. E. Summers, State Entomologist, Ames, Iowa. 

The "white worms*' usually found in cherries are the larv?e of the 
plum curculio {Conotrachelus nenuphar), which seem to be quite 
as fond of cherries as of the plum. It does not cause the cherry to 
drop, however, as is usually the case with the plum, but the nearly 
full-grown larvpe are found in the ripe fruit when it is picked. 

The only treatment is to destroy the beetles before they have laid 
their eggs in the young fruit. This treatment must be applied not 

only to the cherry but to the plum, and, 
to be entirely efiPective, to the peach, nec- 
tarine, and apricot, where these are grown. 
The tree must be sprayed at least three 
times, and four is better. The first be- 
fore the flower-buds open, the second 
immediately after the blossoms have 
fallen, the third ten or twelve days later, 
and the fourth about two weeks later still. 
For the curculio alone the application 
may be, Paris green 1 i^ound, fresh lime 
1 pound, water 200 gallons. As, how- 
ever, cherries are subject to rot and leaf diseases, which may be largely 
prevented by the use' of Bordeaux mixture, it is much better to apply 
the Paris green in conjunction with this fungicide. The combined 
mixture consists of copper sulphate 4 j)ounds, quicklime 4 pounds, 
Paris green 4 ounces, water (one barrel) 40 to 50 gallons. 

Dissolve the copper sulphate (bluestone) by suspending it into a 
wooden or earthen vessel containing four or five or more gallons of 
water. Slake the lime in another vessel. If the lime, when slaked, 
is lumpy or granular, it should be strained through coarse sacking 
or a fine sieve. Pour the copper sulphate solution into a barrel, or 
it may be dissolved in this in the first place ; half fill the barrel with 
water, add the slaked lime ; fill the barrel with water, and stir thor- 
oughly ; it is then ready for use. 

Stock solutions of dissolved copper sulj)hate and of lime may be 
prepared and kei^t in separate covered barrels throughout the spray- 
ing season. The quantities of bluestone, lime and water should be 
carefully noted. 




o, larva; 6, pupa; c, adult; */, a plum 
showing puncture and crescent. 



86 THE KANSAS CHERRY, 



ANOTHER CURCULIO CATCHER. 

The curculio attacking quinces, plums, peaches and a few other 
fruits is but little affected by spraying mixtures of any kind. The 
mouth-parts of the insect are elongated in the form of a beak, and 
when the curculio damages the fruit, very little if any of the jjoison- 
ous substances which may have been applied in the spraying solution 
is taken into the system. The most effective means of combating the 
insect, therefore, is to take advantage of its habit of dropping to the 
ground when alarmed. If a cloth is spread under the tree and the 
limbs struck with some kind of a pole, the insects will drop at once 
onto the sheet and can be collected and destroyed. 

Placing the sheet about the trees is a slow process. Consequently, 
the Cornell station has suggested a device. It consists of an arrange- 
ment built on the jjlan of a double-wheeled wheelbarrow with much 
elongated axle. On this are arranged a number of projecting arms ra- 
diating from a point midway between the two wheels. A canvas or 
any kind of cloth is attached to these arms, with an opening on the 
far side large enough to admit the trunk of the tree. This is very 
inexpensive and easily built. 

The time to begin jarring is still a question, but as the curculio 
are usually more active in the early morning, possibly the work had 
best be done then. These beetles begin operations as early as May, 
arid it will not do to delay jarring them much after they appear. 
Some years they will not appear until the latter part of July. Those 
who practice this method successfully jar the trees every day until 
the numbers are so small that they do not affect the fruit seriously. 
In one orchard, noted by the Cornell station in 1897, 200 curculio 
were jarred from seven trees, and it is not uncommon to get as high 
as fifty from one tree at a single jarring. This process involves con- 
siderable labor and expense, but it costs only about fifteen to twenty 
cents per tree for one season. After the insects are captured they can 
be destroyed by the most convenient method. Some put them in 
kerosene or boiling water, while others have a charcoal stove built for 
the purpose, in which everything that falls on the sheet is burned. — 
Orange Judd Farmer. 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 87 



INSECTS AND DISEASES OF CHERRIES. 

Insects and diseases are not serious upon the sour clierries. The 
curculio does not often attack the raid-season and late varieties — such 
as Montmorency and Morello — seriously, particularly if the number 
of trees is somewhat large. In occasional years, however, this insect 
becomes a sourge. The grower must watch his fruits closely after 
the blossoms fall, and if the curculio injuries become alarming, he 
must catch the insects by jarring them onto sheets. There are those 
who declare that they attract the curculio away from the cherries by 
planting plum trees in the cherry orchard, but I greatly doubt the 
efficiency of this jirocedure. A complete account of the curculio may 
be expected in a forthcoming bulletin. 

The leaf-blight, or shot-hole fungus ( Oylindrosporium padi or 
Septoria cevasina, the same which attacks the j^lum), is often a 
serious enemy, particularly upon English Morello. The leaves begin 
to assume a spotted character, generally before the fruit is picked ; 
they soon turn yellow and they fall prematurely. Thorough spraying 
with Bordeaux mixture is as efficient in holding the leaves on the 
cherry as it is on the iDlum. The trees should generally be sprayed 
twice between the falling of the blossoms and the coloring of the 
fruit. If the cherries are more than half grown when the last spray 
is applied, the ammoniacal carbonate of copi^er may be used in place 
of the Bordeaux, to avoid discoloring the fruit ; but it is doubtful if 
the last spray should be delayed until this time. It may be neces- 
sary to spray once after the fruit is off. 

CHERRY APHIS. (Myzus cerasi.) 

This is a black species, and is sometimes found on the cherry tree 
in enormous numbers, usually on the leaves only, but also attacking 
the tender twigs. They hatch fr©m eggs deposited the previous au- 
tumn on the twigs, and for a few weeks in May and June increase 
very rapidly. Usually their numerous enemies lessen their numbers 
so greatly that they may nearly or entirely disappear after three or 
four weeks. In August they appear again, but usually not in such 
numbers as earlier in the season. As yet this sjDecies does not seem 
to be abundant in the state, but we have received specimens from 
nearly every fruit-growing section. 

CHERRY APHIS. 

This little insect is one family of a large species, commonly known 
as plant-lice, but are nearly black in color. They appear early in the 
spring and begin sucking the juice from the expanding buds. They 
multiply very rapidly, and as growth takes place move to the new 
shoots and leaves, where they collect in large numbers, especially on 



88 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

the under side of the leaves, causing them to curl up so as to cover the 
lice, and thus making it difficult to hit them with a spray after they 
have become well established. Since these insects suck their food 
they cannot be poisoned, but must be killed by contact of the in- 
secticide with their bodies. 

Remed)!. — In fighting these insects close watch should be kept for their first 
appearance, so that they may be sprayed at once and not allowed to become es- 
tablished. The treatment should be repeated as circumstances require. Kero- 
sene emulsion diluted from twelve to fifteen times is commonly recommended for 
plant-lice. If the leaves are curled so that the spray cannot reach the inset, dip 
the infested twigs in whale-oil soap and tobacco tea, or in kerosene emulsion pre- 
pared as follows: Dissolve one-half pound of either common salt or whale-oil 
soap in one gallon of soft water. Heat the mixture, and, when boiling hot, re- 
move it from near the fii-e and add it to two gallons of kerosene. The whole is 
now thoroughly mixed by pumping continuously through a small force-pump for 
from five to fifteen minutes. Mix until the ingredients form a creamy mass that 
becomes thick when cool and from which the oil does not separate. When using 
on foliage dilute with from ten to fifteen parts of water ; when used as a winter 
treatment, it may be applied as strong as one part of the mixture to four parts of 
water. In diluting the stock emulsion, first use three or four parts of boiling 
water, and then dilute to the required strength. Soak off with paper any free 
oil that appears on the surface, as it will work injury if applied to the plant. 
This emulsion is used to kill insects that have sucking mouth-parts ; it is not a 
poison, but kills by contact. The emulsion causes rubber valves to swell and 
clog the tubes in which they work. Where rubber balls are used for valves they 
should be replaced with glass or marble balls when using the pumps for kerosene 
emulsion. The mixture may be poured into shallow pans, and the twigs bent 
over and dipped into it. 

BLACK-KNOT OF THE CHERRY. (I'lowrightia »;or6osa Schw.) 

The black-knot of the cherry is distinctly an American disease, and 
is recognized at a glance by the rough, wart-like swellings which 
cover the branches and sometimes even appear on the trunks of the 
trees. 

Where the fungus is not checked whole orchards soon become af- 
fected, and are a serious m.enace to every healthy tree in the vicinity. 
The fungus was described about seventy years ago by the mycologist 
Schweinitz, who thought, however, as many do still, that the trouble 
was due to insects, from the fact that there is often found the larva of 
insects imbedded in the galls. But since the very careful and sys- 
tematic study of the black-knot by Dr. W. G. Farlow in 1886, there is 
no reason to doubt that it is caused by a parasitic fungus, the spores 
of which, after ripening, become detached from the knots and are 
carried by the wind or by insects to healthy trees, where in some 
manner they penetrate to the cambium layer, where they take root 
and grow, producing galls similar to the one from which they became 
detached. 

Preventives and Remedies.— Ks the galls are found on the native cherry 
growing wild in fence-corners and abandoned places, they should be sought out 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 89 

and burned. When found on cultivated trees, the diseased portions should be 
at once cut out to at least three inches below the knot and burned, and the wound 
treated with a strong ten-per-cent. solution of copper sulphate. If the work is 
done while the trees are dormant, they can be sprayed with the same solution, 
which will be likely to destroy any spores resting on the trees awaiting a favor- 
able time for development. Where the knots are cut off, after treating the wound 
with iron sulphate, cover with a linseed-oil paint. 

BROWN ROT. 

The cherry, like the plum, only more so, suffers from brown rot, 
produced by the fungus Manilla fructic) en o . It must be treated as 
directed in case of the peach. 

CHERRY APHIDE. 

The worst insect enemy of the cherry in the Carolinas is the cherry 
aphide or louse, Myziis cerasi. This pest resembles the aphides of 
the apple, peach and plum, and must be treated in the same way. 
The leaves only are attacked. 

THE JUNE BEETLE. 

The cherry is also attacked by the June beetle, already treated of, 
and which must be combated as prescribed for the peach. 

THE DOG-DAY CICADA. 

The dog-day cicada, Cicada tuhicen, an annual species, resembling 
somewhat the seventeen-year periodical cicada, is sometimes trouble- 
some to the cherry by puncturing the small twigs and laying its eggs 
therein. These eggs hatch and the larvae enter the ground, but com- 
plete their development in one year. 

Remedies : Gather and burn all twigs slowing the slits or nests of 
this insect. 



THE FRUIT-TREE BARK-BEETLE. 

From Kansas.Experiment Station Bulletin. 

Of the insects that have been introduced into this state during the 
past few years, none seem to be more destructive to stone-fruit trees 
than the fruit-tree bark-beetle, or shot-borer^ as it is sometimes called, 
from its peculiar habit of riddling the bark of the trees with numerous 
small holes. The insect has been found in Riley, Bourbon and Allen 
counties, and without doubt is present in a large number of the other 
counties of the state. In Allen county it was very numerous, particu- 
larly in an orchard of cherry trees which were suffering badly from 
the cherry scale {Aspidioius forhesi). 

The presence of the pest will probably be first shown by the wilt- 
ing and falling of the leaves at an lanseasonable time. A close exami- 
nation of the tree infested with the insect will reveal numerous small 
holes in the bark, from which in the case of the stone-fruit trees, such 



90 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

as the plum, peach, cherry, etc., there is a considerable exudation of 
gum. To show how the insect may riddle a tree, a piece of bark less 
than an inch square, taken from an infested cherry tree, contained 
nineteen perforations about the size of a pin-head. 

The insect that is the cause of the mischief is a small beetle about 
one-tenth of an inch in length by about one-third as wide. It is black 
in color, with the exception of the wing-covers and the lower part of 
the legs, which are reddish. 

With the beginning of spring the beetles appear, and commence to 
bore small round holes through the bark to the sap-wood, where they 
make a central burrow or brood-chamber, on each side of which little 
pockets are made, in which eggs are deposited. As the larvae hatch 
from the eggs they commence to make burrows away from and at right 
angles to the brood-chamber, which become larger as the larvae de- 
velop in size. 

The larva is a small grub about one-tenth of an inch in length. It 
is footless and white, with the exception of the head, which is brown- 
ish. 

When the larva has attained its full growth it makes a slightly en- 
larged chamber, in which it pupates. Upon becoming an adult, the 
beetle makes it way out through small holes in the bark, and escapes. 
It takes about a month for the insect to go through its various stages, 
so that during the summer there may be several broods. Many of the 
beetles upon emerging will return and renew their attack upon the 
tree, thus increasing the damage that has already been done. In time 
the tree becomes completely girdled by the numerous channels, and 
dies. 

Strong and vigorous fruit-trees may resist for a time the attacks of 
the beetles through the exudation of the gum, which seems to be ob- 
noxious to both the beetles and the larvae. But if the attacks are con- 
tinued for a length of time, the tree may be so weakened that the flow 
of sap will not be strong enough to repel. In such a case it is not 
long before the fate of the tree is sealed, unless vigorous and prompt 
measures are taken for its protection. 

To prevent loss from this insect, the tree should be kept in a healthy 
condition. The stronger the tree the better it can resist attack. Trees 
that are diseased or are suffering from the attacks of scales or other 
insects seem most subject to attack. 

It is a good practice to remove and destroy all dead wood in the or- 
chard, as it furnishes excellent breeding-places for insects and is a 
source of danger to surrounding trees. 

Badly infested trees should be cut and destroyed. In the early 
spring the trunks of trees liable to attack should be coated with an 
alkaline wash, consisting of soft soap reduced to the consistency of 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 91 

paint by adding washing soda dissolved in water. Enough carbolic 
acid should be added to give a strong repellent odor to the mixture. 
Apply the wash with a stiff brush. Several applications should be 
made during the spring and summer. 



MEDICINAL PROPERTIES OF THE CHERRY. 

Cherries are an absolute cure for rheumatism. I have never known 
a person to suffer from rheumatism who ate freely of cherries, and I 
know of hundreds who have been relieved of attacks by eating them. 
I have often had cherries ordered two and three months before the 
season for them opened hereabouts, and to supply the orders have had 
to send to Cuba and California for them. The ordinary cherry con- 
tains an acid which relieves if it does not effectually cure. Of course, 
it may all be in the season, and that rheumatism would disappear any- 
how, but it is safe to say that there is no rheumatism during the cherry 
season. I do n't know of anything healthier, though even the best- 
tasting, thoroughly ripe and perfect cherries start up very fine cases 
of cholic and cholera morbus, which are very annoying. The colored 
people of the South think, and it may be that the same belief exists 
elsewhere and among others as well, that all the cramp or colic is 
taken oat of the cherry by eating it, swallowing stone and all. That 
unquestionably was the practice once, but in recent years fears of ap- 
IDendicitis may have changed it somewhat, though for the life of me 
I cannot understand why it is so dangerous now to swallow apple 
seed, grape seed, or cherry-stones, when in old-fashioned times it was 
the rule to do so rather than the exception. 



SOME STANDARD RECIPES. 

Canned Cherries. Allow three-quarters of a pound of sugar to every 
pound of cherries. Put into a porcelain-lined kettle; cook sufficient to fill one 
jar only at a time; bring slowly to boiling-point; simmer until the cherries are 
soft, without being broken, skim, and can. All large cherries may be canned 
in the same manner, first pricking the skins to prevent cracking. ("Canning 
and Preserving," by Mrs. Rorer.) 

Another : Wash and put whole in a syrup made in the proportion of a pint 
of water and a pound of sugar to every two pounds of fruit ; boil for eight min- 
utes: can and seal immediately. (Buckeye Cookery.) 

Cherry Charlotte. Stone a quart of ripe cherries and mix them with a 
pound of brown sugar. Cut slices of bread and butter, and lay them around 
the sides and in the bottom of a large, deep dish. Pour in the fruit boiling hot, 
cover the bowl, and set it away to cool gradually. When quite cold, serve with 
sweet cream. This is very nice in hot weather. ( Skilful Housewife's Book. ) 



92 THE KANSAS CHERRY. 

Cherry Compote. — Simmer five ounces of sugar with a half-pint of water 
for ten minutes; throw into the syrup a pound of cherries weighed after they are 
stalked, and let them stew gently for twenty minutes; it is a great improvement 
to stone them, but a larger quantity will then be required for a dish. — ( Mrs. Hale.) 

Cherry Compote of Morellos. Boil together for fifteen minutes five 
ounces of sugar with one-half pint of water; add one and one-fourth pounds of 
ripe Morello cherries, and simmer very gently from five to seven minutes. This 
is a delicious compote. (Mrs. Hale.) 

Dried Cherries. Fruits for drying should be perfect and quite ripe. 
Cherries should be stoned before drying. Spread them in a single layer on boards 
and stand in the hot sun to dry graduually until they turn leather-colored, bring- 
ing in always before sunset, and never put them out in cloudy or damp weather. 
A piece of mosquito-netting will prevent the flies from reaching them. When 
dry, put in paper sacks and hang in a dark, dry, cool place. All fruits may be 
dried in the oven, providing the oven is not sufficiently hot to scorch or scald 
them. The fruit is dried more quickly, and you escape the danger of its being 
stung by insects. (Mrs. Rorer, in "Canning and Preserving.") 

Dried Cherries. — Cherries are dried as follows : Put in jars first a layer of 
fruit, then a layer of sugar, in the proportion of a half a pound of sugar to a 
pound of fruit; let stand over night; place them to boil, skimming off all scum; 
let boil ten or fifteen minutes, skim out and spread on dishes to dry in the sun or 
by the fire, turning frequently until dry; then place on pans in the oven, stirring 
with the hand often until the heat is too great to bear. They may then be placed 
in jars with sugar or put away in paper sacks, or stone crocks with a cloth tied 
over the top, and are an excellent substitute for raisins in pudding or mince-pies. 

The secret of keeping dried fruit is to exclude the light, and to keep in a dry 
and cool place. Paper sacks, or a barrel or box lined with paper, are secure 
against moths. Reheating fruit makes it dark in color and impairs the flavor. 
Always fill a fruit-can and keep for present use, to avoid opening the large jars 
often. (Buckeye Cookery.) 

Cherry Jam. — Stone four pounds of cherries and put them in a preserving- 
pan with two pounds of fine white sugar and a pint of red-currant juice : their 
own juice will do. Boil the whole together rather fast, until it stiffens, and then 
put it into pots or jars for use. (Mrs. Hale.) 

Cherry .JeHy. Put the cherries into a stone jar, stand it in a kettle of cold 
water, cover the top of the jar, and heat slowly until the cherries are soft. Now 
put a small quantity at a time in your jelly-bag, and squeeze out all the juice. 
Measure the juice, and to each pint allow one pound of granulated sugar. Turn 
the juice into a porcelain-lined kettle and stand over a brisk fire. Put the sugar 
into earthen dishes and stand in the oven to heat. Boil the juice rapidly and 
continuously for twenty minutes, then turn in the sugar hastily, stirring all the 
• while until the sugar is dissolved. Dip your tumblers quickly into hot water, 
watch the liquid carefully, and as soon as it comes again to a boil, take it from 
the fire and fill the tumblers. If the fruit is overripe your jelly will never be 
firm, no matter how long you boil it. Follow these directions carefully and you 
will never fail. (Mrs. Rorer, in "Canning and Preserving.") 



THE KANSAS CHERRY. 93 

Cherries — Pickled. Use the common or Morello cherries; pick off the 
stems, see that they are perfect, and lay them in a glass or earthen jar, with suf- 
ficient cold vinegar to cover them, and keep them in a cool place. They need no 
spices, as they retain their own flavor. (Skilful Housewife.) 

Cherry Pie. Stone your cherries, that you may be sure they are free from 
worms; lay your paste in a deep dish, and add a good quantity of fruit; fill the 
dish with molasses, with a handful of flour sprinkled over, then a nice paste on 
top, and bake more than half an hour. If sugar is used, you will need water and 
flour. This makes the gravy very rich and the pie delightful. (Skilful House- 
wife.) 

Cherry Pie.— Line a pie- tin with rich paste; nearly fill with carefully seeded 
fruit, sweeten to taste, and sprinkle evenly with a teaspoon of corn starch or a 
tablespoon of flour; add a tablespoon of butter cut into small bits and scattered 
over the top : wet edge of crust, put on upper crust and press the edges closely 
together, taking care to provide holes in the center for the escape of air. (Buck- 
eye Cookery.) 

Cherry Preserves. Choose sour ones — the Early Richmond is good- 
seed all very carefully, allow an amount of sugar equal to the fruit; take half the 
sugar, sprinkle over the fruit, let stand about an hour, pour into a preserving ket- 
tle, boil slowly ten minutes, skim out the cherries, add balance of sugar, boil, 
skim, and pour over the cherries ; the next day drain off the syrup, boil, skim 
if necessary , add the cherries, boil twenty minutes, and seal up in small jars. 
(Mrs. J. M. Southard, in "Buckeye Cookery.") 

Spiced Cherries. Seven pounds of cherries, four pounds of sugar, one 
pint of vinegar, half ounce of ginger root, one teaspoonful of ground cloves, two 
teaspoonfuls of allspice, two teaspoonfuls of cinnamon, half teaspoonful of ground 
mace. Do not remove the stones. Put the vinegar and sugar on to boil. Mix 
the spices and divide them into four parts. Put each into a small square of 
muslin, tie tightly and throw into the sugar and vinegar. When this mixture is 
hot, add the cherries; bring to boiling-point, take from the fire, and turn care- 
fully into a stone jar. Stand in a cool place over night. Next day drain all the 
liquor from the cherries into a porcelain-lined kettle, stand over a moderate fire, 
and, when boiling hot, pour back into the jar over the cherries. Next day drain 
and heat again as before; this do for nine consecutive days; the last time boi 
the liquor down until there is just enough to cover the fruit. Add the fruit to 
it, bring to a boil, and put in jars or tumblers for keeping. (Mrs. Rorer, in 
"Canning and Preserving.") 

Cherry Syriip. Mash the cherries and stand aside in a warm place for 
four days; cover to keep out dust and insects; then turn into a jelly-bag and 
let drip slowly. If you wish it very clear, filter through filtering paper. Measure 
the juice, and to every pint allow two pounds of granulated sugar. Mix the juice 
and sugar together until only a small portion settles to the bottom; then pour it 
into a double boiler, place over the fire, and the heat of the water as it boils around 
will dissolve the sugar. When this has been thoroughly effected, take it from 
the fire and stand aside to cool. When cool, put into small bottles, fill them to 
the top, cork tightly, seal, and keep in a dark, cool, dry place. Be very careful 
that you use only porcelain or granite articles in the making of syrups, as the 
acids of the fruits will act upon metal and change the bright-red color to a pur- 
ple. Use a wooden spoon in stirring. Strong heat or boiling also destroys the 
color and flavor of syrups. (|Mrs. Rorer, in "Canning and Preserving.") — 



94 



THE KANSAS APRICOT. 




SUPERB APRICOT. 
Originated with A. H. Griesa, Lawrence, Kan. 



APRICOTS. 



It is hoped that the reader may be favorably impressed with the 
usefulness and value of the apricot by what is recorded here. The 
thirty-five Kansas growers who are quoted are scattered over our state, 
and while all fear late spring frosts yet all declare it a nice fruit for 
family use and the surplus is always salable at good prices. Califor- 
nia has over three million trees, and California apricots are known the 
world over, either fresh, canned, or evaporated. They form a hand- 
some tree for shade, being very dense, and the acid of the fruit is 
surely good for the human system in hot weather. Why should Kan- 
sans depend on California for apricots? I have eaten as fine apricots 
in Marion county, Kansas, as I ever saw come from California. If I 
did not know that Kansans are honest from living thirty years among 
them, I could readily believe that the best apricots, wrapped carefully 
and boxed nicely, were grown and jDacked within the borders of our 
state. Apricot trees are not costly, can be obtained at any nursery, 
should be set about eighteen feet apart, with same care as peaches, being 
trimmed to a stick. As they grow, head them back annually. Culti- 
vate well for six or eight years, until well grown. They do best on 
strong land. Moorpark and Early Golden are probably best, unless 
some Kansas seedling ( Sujjerb, Home, Remer or others ) may be more 
hardy. Many small iDlantings should be tried in our state. If our 
horticulturists say they will grow apricots, they will. — Secretary. 



WHAT AN APRICOT IS. 

Century Dictionary defiiiition: A roundish, pubescent, orange- 
colored fruit, of a rich aromatic flavor, the produce of a tree of the 
plum kind, Prunus armenmca, natural order Rosaceji;. Its specific 
name is due to the belief that it is a native of Armenia, but it is now 
supposed to be of Chinese origin. It grows wild in the Himalayas 
and northwestern jjrovinces of India, where its fruit is gathered in 
great quantities. It was introduced into England in 152-^, by the 
gardener of Henry VIII. The tree rises to the height of from fifteen 
to twenty and even thirty feet, and its flowers appear before its leaves. 

(95) 



96 THE KANSAS APRICOT. 

In cultivation it is often propagated by budding upon plum stocks. 
There are a considerable number of varieties, some of them with sweet 
kernels which may be eaten like almonds. The wild apricot of the 
West Indies is the Mammea arm.eniaca ; that of Guiana, the Cmir- 
oupita guianensis. 

Standard Dictionary definition: A fruit allied to the plum, of an 
orange color, oval shape, and delicious taste; also, the tree {Prunus 
armeniaca) which bears this fruit. By cultivation it has been intro- 
duced throughout the temperate zone. 



APRICOTS. 

(From Downiag's "Fruit and Fruit-trees of America." 

Armeniaca vulgarics, of botanists: Ahricot'cr, of the French; Ajyrikosen- 
baum, of the German; Albereoco, of the Italian; Albaricoque, of the Spanish. 

The apricot is one of the most beautiful of stone-fruit trees, easily 
known by its glossy, heart-shaped foliage, large white blossoms, and 
smooth-skinned golden or ruddy fruit. In the fruit-garden it a highly 
attractive object in early spring, as its charming flowers are the first 
to expand. It forms a fine spreading tree of about twenty feet in 
height, and is hardy enough to bear as an open standard south of the 
forty-second degree of latitude in this country. The native countries 
of this tree are Armenia, Arabia, and the higher regions of central 
Asia. It is largely cultivated in China and Japan ; and, indeed, ac- 
cording to the accounts of Grosier, the mountains west of Pekin are 
covered with a natural growth of apricots. The names by which it is 
known in various European countries all seem to be corruptions of 
the original Arabic term Berkoche. 

Uses. — A very handsome and delicious dessert fruit, only inferior 
to the peach, ripening about midsummer, after cherries and before 
plums, at a season when it is peculiarly acceptable. For preserving 
in sugar or [canning], for jellies or pastries, it is highly esteemed, 
and, where it is abundant, it is also dried for winter use. In some 
parts of Germany, the free-bearing sorts — the Turkey, Orange, and 
Breda — are largely cultivated for this purjjose. 

Cultivation. — This tree is almost always budded on the plum stock 
(on which in July it takes readily), as it is found more hardy and 
durable than upon its own roots. Many nurserymen bud the apricot 
on the peach, but the trees so produced are very inferior in quality, 
short-lived, more liable to disease, and the fruit of a second-rate flavor. 
Budded on the plum they are well adapted to strong soils, in which 
they always hold their fruit better than in high, sandy soils. Apricots 
[trees] generally grow very thrifty, and soon make fine heads, and pro- 



THE KANSAS APRICOT. 97 

duce an abundance of blossoms and young fruit ; but the crop of the 
latter frequently falls off when half grown, from being stung by the 
plum- weevil or curculio, to which the smooth skin of this fruit seems 
highly attractive. To remedy this, the same course must be pursued 
as is directed for the plum. Seedling apricots are usually more hardy 
and productive here than the finer grafted sorts. This is a favorite 
tree for training on walls or espaliers, and, in town gardens especially, 
we often see it trained against the side of brick houses, and yielding 
most abundantly. It bears its fruit in the same way as the peach, and 
requires the same management. As the apricot, however, expands its 
blossoms very early, it should not be placed on an east wall, or in a 
situation where it is too m\ich exposed to the full morning sun. 

Diseases. — When budded on the plum this tree is but little liable 
to diseases, and may be considered a hardy fruit-tree. In order to 
render it fruitful, and keep it for a long time in a productive state, we 
cannot too strongly urge the advantages of the shortening-in system 
of pruning recommended for the peach. 

Downing describes forty-four varieties. 



THE APRICOT. 

From Thomas's "American Fruit Culturist." 

It is remarkable that a fruit of such excellence as the ajDricot, that 
ripens from one to two months before the best early peaches, should 
be so little known. In its natural character it is more nearly allied 
to the plum than the peach, resembling the former in its broad leaf 
and the smooth stone of its fruit, but downy like the peach, and par- 
taking largely of its flavor and excellence. The apricot is budded on 
seedling apricots, and on peach and plum stocks. Plum stocks are 
preferred, and are more especially adapted to heavy soils ; on light 
soils the hard-shelled almond and the wild plum have proved excel- 
lent. 

The soil should be deep and dry. Young trees have frequently 
perished from a wet subsoil, even where the surface is not unusually 
moist. On suitable soils, the tree is as hardy as most early peaches, 
but its greatest drawback is that its blossoms ojDen so early and the 
young fruit is so tender that they are often destroyed by frost. The 
trees have been commonly planted in the warmest situations, as on 
the warm side of buildings or other sheltered site, facing the hot sun, 
where they have blossomed early, and, as a consequence, the crop has 
not unfrequently been destroyed by vernal frosts. Hence, a northern 
or more exposed aspect would be far preferable. If trained on a build- 
—7 



98 THE KANSAS APRICOT. 

ing, the eastern side should be especially avoided, as a hot morning 
sun upon frosted buds would be nearly certain destruction. 

The liability to the attacks of the curculio, and the very common 
destruction of the whole crop by this insect, have contributed to the 
general conclusion that the apricot is not suited to our northern cli- 
mate. Several cultivators, as far north as forty-three degrees of lati- 
tude, by a systematic destruction of this insect, and by selecting a dry 
subsoil, are said to obtain heavy crops of this delicious midsummer 
fruit. More recently varieties from southern Russia have been intro- 
duced, which, so far as hardiness and vigorous, thrifty growth are con- 
cerned, appear to have advantages over the older kinds in cultivation. 
But thus far, in producing satisfactory crops of fruit for market pur- 
poses, apricots east of the Rocky mountains, neither North nor South, 
have been very successful. By careful management, of which it is 
surely worthy, sufficient for family use may be obtained wherever the 
fruit will grow, but that apricots may be expected to be about as pro- 
ductive as the peach, as one eminent authority has recently stated, 
unless indeed in a few favored localities, is hardly probable. 

Thomas describes twenty-nine varieties. 



APRICOTS. 

By L. H. Bailey, in "Cyclopedia of American Horticulture." 

The apricot is a fruit somewhat intermediate between the peach 
and the plum. The tree is a round-headed, spreading grower, with 
dark, somewhat peach-like bark, and very broad, or almost circular, 
leaves. The fruit, which generally ripens in advance of both the 
peach and plum, is peach-like in shape and color, with a smoother 
skin, rich, yellow flesh, and large, flat, smooth stone. The flesh is 
commonly less juicy than that of the peach, and, as a rule, perhaps, 
of higher quality. The apricots are of three species, all probably 
native of China or Japan. The common apricot of Europe and 
America is Prunus mnericana; fruit variable, but smooth at matu- 
rity ; red or yellow ; the sweet and firm flesh free, or very nearly so, 
from the large, smooth, flat stone; tree with a round, spreading top, 
and a reddish, cherry-like or peach-like bark ; leaves ovate or round 
ovate, with a short point and sometimes a heart-shaped base, thin 
and bright green, smooth or very nearly so below, as are the gland- 
bearing stalks ; the margins rather obtusely and mostly finely Serrate ; 
flowers pink white and borne singly, sessile or very nearly so, i3reced- 
ing the leaves. 

The Russian apricot is a hardy but smaller-fruited race of the spe- 



THE KANSAS APRICOT. 99 

cies. The Japanese apricot, in Japan grown for flowers rather than 
for fruit, is Prumis rtiume; fruit small, yellowish or greenish, the flesh 
rather hard and dry, and adhering tightly to the j^itted stone; tree like 
the common apricot, but with a grayer or greener bark and duller 
foliage; leaves grayish green, generally narrower, and long pointed, 
more or less hairy along the veins below and on the shorter, mostly 
glandless stalk, thick in texture and jDrominently netted beneath; flow- 
ers fragrant, borne singly or in twos, and sessile (without stalks) . Only 
recently introduced into this country, chiefly under the name of Bun- 
goume plum. 

The third species is the purple or black apricot, Prunus dasycarpa, 
which is little cultivated; fruit globular and somewhat plum-like, with 
a distinct stem, pubescent or fuzzy even at maturity, dull dark purple, 
the sourish, soft flesh clinging to the plum-like fuzzy stone; tree round- 
headed, with much the habit of the common apricots, with leaves 
ovate and more or less tapering at both ends, thin, dull green, on 
slender and pubescent, mostly glandless stalks, finely appressed ser- 
rate, and hairy on the veins below; flowers large and plum-like, blush, 
solitary or in twos, on pubescent stalks half-inch or more long, and 
appearing in advance of the leaves. The apricot is as hardy as the 
peach, and it thrives in the same localities and under the same general 
cultivation and treatment, but demands rather strong soil. It is grown 
commercially in New York and other Eastern states. 

There are three chief reasons why the apricot has remained in 
comparative obscurity in the East : Ignorance of the fruit ; loss of 
crop by spring frosts, because of the very early season of blooming of 
the apricot; the fondness of the curculio for the fruit. To these 
may be added the fact that we have not yet arrived at an understand- 
ing of the best stocks upon w^hich to bud the apricot ; but this diffi- 
culty may be expected to disapjoear as soon as greater attention is 
given to the fruit and our nurserymen begin to propagate it exten- 
sively. Aside from the above difficulties, there are probably no rea- 
sons why apricots should not be grown in the East as easily as i)lums.' 
or peaches. The varieties of apricots which are chiefly prized in th& 
Eastern states are Harris, Early Moorpark and St. Ambroise for early ; 
Turkish or Roman, Montgamet, Royal and MoorjDark for mid-season 
and late. Of the Russian race, the best known are Alexander, Gibb, 
Budd, Alexis, Nicholas, and Catherine. The ideal soil for the apricot 
seems to be one which is deep and dry, and of a loamy or gravelly 
character. The rolling loamy lands which are well adapted to apples 
seem to be well suited to the apricot, if the ex^josure and location are 
right. The apricot seems to be particularly impatient of wet feet, 
and many of the failures are due to retentive subsoils. 



100 THE KANSAS APRICOT. 

Particular attention should be given to the location and exposure 
of the apricot orchard. In the East, the best results are obtained if 
the plantation stands upon elevated land near a large body of water, 
for there the spring frosts are not so serious as elsewhere. Generally 
a somewhat backward exposure, if it can be obtained, is desirable, in 
order to retard blooming. Apricots will be sure to fail in frosty locali- 
ties. The apricot should always be given clean culture. For the first 
two or three years some hoed crop may be grown between the trees, 
but after that the trees should be allowed the entire land, particularly 
if set less than twenty feet apart. Cultivation should be stopped late 
in summer or early in the fall, in order to allow the wood to mature 
thoroughly. 

The trees are pruned in essentially the same way as plums. The 
fruit-buds are borne both upon spurs, and also on the wood of the last 
season's growth, on either side of the leaf-bud. Each bud contains a 
single naked flower. As the fruit begins to swell, the calyx ring is 
forced off over the top ; and the injury from curculio may then be ex- 
pected. When grown under the best conditions, the apricot may be 
considered to be nearly or quite as productive as the iJeach. Like 
other fruit-trees, it bears in alternate years, unless the crops are very 
heavily thinned ; but it can never be recommended for general or in- 
discriminate planting. Only the best fruit-growers can succeed with 
it. 

Apricots are to be considered as a dessert or fancy fruit, and there- 
fore should be neatly packed, in small and tasty packages. The most 
83rious enemy of the apricot is the curculio — the same insect which 
attacks the plum and peach. It seems to have a particular fondness 
for the apricot, and, as the fruit sets very early, the crop may be ex- 
pected to be destroyed unless the most vigilant means are employed 
of fighting the insect. Spraying with arsenical poison is uncertain. 
The insect must be caught by jarring the trees, in the same manner 
as on plums and peaches, but the work must be even more thoroughly 
done than upon those fruits. The jarring should begin as soon as 
the blossoms fall, and continue as long as the insects are numerous 
enough to do serious damage. It will usually be necessary to catch 
the insects for three to six weeks, two or three times a week, or per- 
haps even every day. The work must be done early in the morning, 
while the curculio is indisposed to fly. The operation consists in 
knocking the insects from the tree by a quick jar or shake, catching 
them upon a white sheet or in a canvas hopper. The catcher com- 
monly used in western New York is a strong cloth hopper mounted 
upon a wheelbarrow-like frame, and running upon two wheels. The 
hopper converges into a tin box, into which the curculios roll as they 



THE KANSAS APRICOT. 101 

fall upon the sheet. One man wheels the device by wheelbarrow-like 
handles under the tree, then drops the handles and jars the tree ; or 
sometimes two men go with a machine, one wheeling it and the other 
jarring the trees. This device is used extensively by practical fruit- 
growers for catching the curculio on the various stone fruits. 

It is not yet certain what are the best stocks for apricots in the 
East, in commercial orchards. It is probable that no one stock is 
best under all circumstances. 

The apricot root itself seems to be impatient of our cold and wet 
soils, which are drenched by the drainage of winter. It needs a very 
deep and rich soil, but it is doubtful if it is safe for the East. The 
common plum (not Myrobalan) is an excellent stock for plum soils, 
and the apricot does well either nursery budded or top- worked upon 
it. Peach is probably the commonest stock, and, for peach soils, it is 
probably the best that can be used. If the apricot thrives upon 
various stocks, it is thereby adapted to many soils. The apricot is 
often trained on walls, where the fruit reaches the highest perfection. 
Care should be taken that the wall does not face to the west or the 
south, or the early forced flowers may be caught by frost. An over- 
hanging cornice will aid greatly in protecting from frost. 



THE APRICOT IN CALIFORNIA. 

By Edward J. Wickson. 

The apricot is one of the leading commercial fruits of California. 
It was introduced by the mission fathers, for Vancouver found it at 
the Santa Clara mission in 1792. However, there is no relation be- 
tween this early introduction and the expansion which quickly fol- 
lowed the American occupation, because the mission fathers had 
only seedling fruits, while the early American planters, shortly before 
the gold discovery, introduced the best French and English varieties, 
and were delighted to find that these sorts, usually given some pro- 
tection in the old world, grew with surprising thrift of tree and size 
of fruit in valley situations in California in the open air. Upon 
these facts the apricot rose to wide popularity. The acreage has 
steadily increased during the last fifty years, and with particularly 
swift rate during the last twenty years, until the number of trees at 
the present date (1899) is about three millions, occuj^ying ujawards 
of 40,000 acres of land. This notable increase, and the present pros- 
pect of much greater extension, is based upon the demand which has 
arisen for the fruit in its fresh, canned, dried and crystallized forms 
in all the regions of the United States, in England, and on the con- 
tinent, where, by reason of its superior size and acceptable manner of 



102 THE KANSAS APRICOT. 

curing, it has achieved notable popularity. The year 1897 was the 
greatest thus far in amount of dried product realized, viz., 30,000,000 
pounds. The year 1895 was greatest in amount of canned product, 
which reached upwards of 360,000 cases, each containing two dozen 
two-and-one-half-j)ound cans. The shipment of fresh apricots out of 
California during the summer of 1897 was 177 car-loads. 

The chief part of the apricot crop of California is grown in the in- 
terior valleys. In the low places in these valleys, however, the fruit is 
apt to be injured and sometimes almost wholly destroyed by spring 
frosts, although the trees make excellent growth. In foot-hill situa- 
tions adjacent to these valleys there is also serious danger of frost 
above an elevation of about 1500 feet above sea-level, and the tree is 
rarely planted for commercial purposes. In southern California the 
apricot succeeds both in the coast and interior valleys. But along 
the coast northward, excepting the very important producing regions 
of the Alameda and Santa Clara valleys, eastward and southward from 
the Bay of San Francisco, the apricot is but little grown, owing to 
frost troubles. In respect to these the apricot is somewhat less sub- 
ject to harm than the almond, but it is less hardy than the peach, and 
has, therefore, a much narrower range of adaptation. The average 
date of blooming of apricot varieties is about two weeks later than 
that of almonds. 

The apricot is adapted lo a wide range of soils, because to the 
rather heavy, moist loams which its own root tolerates it adds the 
lighter tastes of the peach root, upon which it is very largely propa- 
gated. However, attempts to carry the apricot upon heavier, moister 
soils by working it upon the plum root have not been very successful, 
owing to the dwarfing of the tree ; and the movement towards the 
light, dry loams, by working upon the almond root, has failed because 
the attachment is insecure, and the trees are very apt to be snapped 
off at the joining, even though they may attain bearing age before the 
mishap occurs. The apricot root itself is a favorite morsel with ro- 
dents, and is for that reason not largely used. Our mainstay for the 
apricot, then, is the peach root, and the soils which this root enjoys 
in localities sufficiently frost free are, therefore, to a great extent, the 
measure of our apricot area. 

Apricot trees are produced by budding on peach or apricot seed- 
lings during their first summer's growth in the nursery row, from pits 
planted when the ground is moist and warm, at any time during the 
preceding winter. When there is a great demand for trees, planting 
in orchard is sometimes done with dormant buds, but ordinarily the 
trees are allowed to make one summer's growth in the nursery. The 
trees branch during the first year's growth from the bud, and usually 



THE KANSAS APRICOT. 103 

come to the planter with a good choice of low-starting l)ranches from 
which to shape the low-headed tree, which is universally preferred. 
The method of securing such a tree is identical with that already de- 
scribed for the almond, but the treatment of the tree after reaching 
bearing age, in its third year, is very different from the after-treatment 
of the almond. The apricot is a rampant grower and most profuse 
bearer. Unless kept continually in check it will quickly rush out of 
reach, and will destroy its low shoots and spurs by the dense shade of 
its thick, beautiful foliage. There is continually necessary, then, a 
certain degree of thinning of the surplus shoots and shortening of the 
new growth to continue the system of low branching, to relieve the 
tree from an excess of bearing wood, and to avoid small fruit and ex- 
haustion of the tree, resulting in alternate years of bearing. 

In the coast regions, where the tree makes moderate wood growth, 
it can be kept in good form and bearing by regular winter pruning. 
In warmer regions, where the tendency is to exuberant wood growth, 
the main pruning is done in the summer, immediately after the fruit 
is gathered. This has a tendency to check wood growth and promote 
fruit bearing, and where the main cutting is done in the summer 
winter pruning is reduced to thinning out shoots, to prevent the tree 
from becoming too dense and to lessen the work of hand thinning of 
the fruit later on. In addition, however, to the most intelligent prun- 
ing, much fruit must be removed by hand when there is a heavy set 
of it, in order to bring the fruit to a size satisfactory to shippers or 
canners, and to reach the highest grades, if drying is practiced. Cali- 
fornia apricot orchards are all grown with clean tillage, for the main 
purpose of moisture conservation. In regions of good rainfall and 
sufficiently retentive loams no irrigation is required ; good tillage 
will suffice for the production of large fruit and perfection of fruit- 
buds for the following year. As the trees are becoming older and 
bearing larger crops the demand for moisture increases, and the use 
of irrigation water is growing. In most places, however, one irriga- 
tion is sufficient, and that is given after fruit gathering, to carry the 
tree through the last half of its season's work. In the regularly 
irrigated regions of the state water is periodically applied through the 
growing season, in such amount and at such intervals as the local 
climate and soils require. 

Though probably all the good varieties of the apricot in the world 
have been introduced into California during the last half century, and 
scores of selected seedlings of local origin have been widely tested, the 
varieties which have survived the tests and are now widely grown are 
comparatively few in number. Most of the rejected varieties met their 
fate because of shy bearing, and those which now constitute the bulk 



104 THE KANSAS APRICOT. 

of the crop are very regular and full bearers under rational treatment. 
A local seedling, the Pringle, was for many years chiefly grown for 
the earliest ripening, but this has recently been largely superseded by 
another local seedling, the Newcastle, which is of superior size and 
about as early. The European varieties. Large Early and Early Golden, 
are fine in a few localities where they bear well, and do better in south- 
ern California than elsewhere. The universal favorite is the Royal ; 
probably three-fourths of all the trees in the state are of this variety, 
though recently the area of the Blenheim has been increasing largely. 
The Hemskirk stands next to the Blenheim in popularity. The Peach 
apricot is largely grown in the Sacramento valley. 

The best apricot grown in California is the Moorpark ; in size and 
lusciousness, when well ripened, it heads the list. It is, however, 
rather shy in bearing, and is forsaken for this fault in most regions. 
It shows the best behavior in the Santa Clara valley, and is there re- 
tained, in spite of frequent lapses, because of the high prices which 
it commands at the canneries. About a dozen other varieties are car- 
ried in small number by the nurserymen to meet limited local de- 
mands. Apricots for canning and drying are graded according to 
size : Extra, not less than two and one-fourth inches in diameter ; No. 
1, two inches ; No. 2, one and one-half inches ; No. 3, one inch. The 
first three grades must be sound, clean, and free from blemish, and 
No. 3 must be of good merchantable quality. The shippers and can- 
ners require well-colored but only firm-ripe fruit, because both the 
long rail transportation and the canning process require it ; soft, ripe 
fruit will neither can nor carry. For drying, riper fruit is used, and 
yet overripeness has to be guarded against to avoid too dark color. 
For canning, the fruit must be carefully hand-picked; for drying, 
much is shaken from the trees. 

The drying process consists in cutting the fruit in halves longi- 
tudinally, dropping out the pit and placing the halves, cavity upper- 
most, upon light wooden trays. Breaking or tearing the fruit open 
will not do; it must show clean-cut edges. When the trays are cov- 
ered they are placed in a tight compartment, usually called a "sulphur 
box," though it may be of considerable size, and the fruit is exposed 
to the fumes of slowly burning sulphur, to insure its drying to the 
light golden color which is most acceptable to the trade. The pro- 
duction of the right color is the end in view, and different dryers 
regulate the amount of sulphur and the length of exposure accord- 
ing to the condition of their fruit and their judgment of what it 
needs. The exposure varies from half an hour to two or three hours, 
according to circumstances. After sulphuring, the trays are taken to 
open ground, and the fruit is cured in the sun. Only a very small 



THE KANSAS APRICOT. 105 

fraction of the California product of evaporated apricots is cured in 
an evaporator. It requires about six pounds of fresh apricots to make 
one pound of cured fruit. 

A moderate estimate of the yield of apricots might be placed at 
seven and one-half tons to the acre ; extreme yields are far away from 
this both ways. The apricot is, as a rule, a very healthy tree in Califor- 
nia. It is, however, subject to injury by scale-insects of the lecanium 
group in some parts of the state. D^ing recent years there has been 
increasing injury by a shot-hole fungus, which perforates the leaves 
and makes ugly pustules upon the fruit. Such fruit is unfit for can- 
ning, except the fruit be peeled, which is little done as yet. It also 
makes low-grade dried product. This fungus can be repressed by 
fungicides of the copper class. 



VARIETIES OF APRICOTS. 

Alexis. — Large, yellow, red blush ; subacid, rich and good. Does 
well in West. Ripens about July 15. Russian. (Thomas.) 

Alexander. — Large, oblong, orange yellow, spotted red; sweet, 
juicy. Early. Very good; prolific. Russian. (Thomas.) 

BuDD, J. L. — Large, white, with fine red cheek; sweet, juicy. 
Very good. Ripens in August. Russian. (Thomas.) 

Early Golden (Dubois's Apricot). — Small, an inch and a fourth 
in diameter, round oval, nearly smooth ; suture narrow, distinct ; sur- 
face wholly pale orange ; flesh orange, moderately juicy, sweet, good, 
free from the stone ; kernel .sweet. Early, or ten days before the 
Moorpark. Hardy, very productive, profitable for market. Origin, 
Dutchess county, New York. ( Thomas. ) 

Moorpark (Anson's, Dunmore's, Breda, Temple's). — Large, two 
inches in diameter, nearly round, slightly compressed ; surface orange, 
with a deep orange-red cheek, and with numerous darker dots ; flesh 
free from the stone, bright yellowish orange, rather firm, quite juicy, 
with a rich, high flavor ; kernel bitter ; stone perforate, or with a hole 
lengthwise under one edge, so that a pin may be thrust through. 
Season medium, or two weeks after midsummer. Requires the shorten- 
ing-in pruning recommended for the peach. English. Old. ( Thomas.) 

Harris. — Medium, roundish oval, flattened, suture distinct ; bright 
yellow, red cheek ; juicy, good. Hardy, productive. Ripens middle 
of July to first of August. New York. (Thomas.) 

Royal. — Rather large, round-oval, slightly compressed, suture shal- 
low; dull yellow, faintly reddened to the sun; flesh pale orange, firm, 
juicy, sweet, high flavored, slightly subacid, free from the large, oval. 



106 THE KANSAS APRICOT. 

nearly impervious stone; kernel bitter. Ripens a week before Moor- 
IDark, smaller than the latter, and with a less bitter kernel. French. 
(Thomas.) 

Breda (Holland, Amande, Aveline). — Rather small, sometimes 
nearly medium (an inch and a half in diameter), roundish, obscurely 
four-sided, suture distinct; surface orange, with a dark reddish-orange 
cheek; flesh deep orange, free from the stone, rich, and high flavored; 
sweet kernel. Quite early, or a week or two after midsummer. Hardy 
for an apricot, and very productive. (Thomas.) 

St. Ambroise. — Large, roundish, compressed, yellow, shaded dark 
orange. Prolific. Good. (Thomas.) 

Bergetti Blenheim. — Large, oval, surface orange; flesh deep yel- 
low, juicy, rather rich; stone roundish, not perforate; kernel bitter. 
Inferior to Moorpark, but rather earlier. English. (Thomas.) 

Eureka. — Very early; large, fine; prolific. 



APRICOTS. 

Extracts from a paper by Chakles E. Bessey, Ph. D., Nebraska. 

The apricot {Prunus americana) is a small tree, with a round, 
spreading top, and a reddish, cherry-like or peach-like bark; leaves 
smooth, thin, and bright green, ovate or round ovate, with a short 
point and sometimes a heart-shaped base, obtusely and finely serrate ; 
flowers single, pink white, sessile, or nearly so ; fruit globose, smooth, 
red or yellow, with the sweet, firm flesh nearly or quite free from the 
large, smooth, flat stone. Original distribution : Northern China, 
Mongolia, and Manchuria. 

In writing about the apricot Professor Bailey says : "It is a preva- 
lent notion that the apricot tree is too tender to be grown in New 
York state. It will surprise many to learn that the fruit is consider- 
ably grown in the state, there being one plantation of many hundred 
trees. The apricot is as hardy as the peach, and it thrives in the 
same localities and under the same general cultivation and treatment. 
There are three chief reasons, I think, why the apricot has remained 
in comparative obscurity in the horticulture of western New York : 
(1) Ignorance of the fruit; (2) loss of crop by spring frosts, because 
of the very early season of blooming of the apricot; (3) the fondness 
of the curculio for the fruit. To these may be added the fact that we 
have not yet arrived at an understanding of the best stocks upon 
which to bud the apricot." The common apricot is usually con- 
sidered to be less hardy than the Russian kinds, but as to this there 
is some doubt, and it is very certain that the latter are not as desir- 



THE KANSAS APRICOT. 107 

able as the former. From all that I can learn of the varieties of the 
apricot, I am inclined to think that in southern Nebraska the common 
apricot may be grown in favored places, and that the Russian sorts 
may be grown somewhat further north. 

Black Apricot ( Prunus dasycarpa). A small, round-topped tree, 
with much the habit of the common apricot ; leaves thin, dull green, 
ovate, and more or less tapering at both ends, appressed serrate, hairy 
on the veins below ; flowers large, white, solitary or in twos, short 
stalked; fruit globular, somewhat plum-like, hairy, on a short stem, 
dull dark purple, the red flesh sourish and clinging to the plum-like 
stone. Original distribution : Not certainly known, but probably in 
Manchuria. This fruit, which is known also as the Purple apricot, 
possesses but little merit, but is frequently spoken of in horticultural 
circles. 

Japanese Apricot {Pvuhuk mume). A small tree, resembling the 
common apricot, but with a grayer or greener bark and duller foliage ; 
leaves thickish, grayish green, generally narrower than the common 
apricot, and long-pointed, more or less hairy along the veins below ; 
flowers single or in twos, white to rose color, sessile; fruit small, yel- 
lowish or greenish, the rather hard, dry flesh adhering to the pitted 
stone. Original distribution : Japan. Professor Bailey, in describing 
this species, says: "Recently introduced to this country. Its chief 
representative here is the Bungoume, or so-called Bungo plum. Other 
forms of this species are Hanahoume, Koume, Grold Dust and Chi- 
nese apricots." Of the first variety, he says : "The fruit is small and 
poor, and I do not see sufiicient merit in it to make it worth grow- 
ing." In Japan it is grown for ornamental purposes. 



A KANSAS APRICOT. 

By A. H. Griesa, Lawrence, Kan. 

The apricot is not generally grown as a profitable market fruit in 
this country, owing to its uncertain crop, caused partly by the frost 
injuring its early blossoms, wind-storms dropping its fruit, and the 
destructive effects of the curculio. 

The Superb is a chance seedling, which was discovered on the 
grounds of the Kansas Home nursery, at Lawrence, Kan. [A. H- 
Griesa, proprietor], among hundreds of Russian seedlings; it being 
one that happened to have a good chance to produce its fine fruit in 
an out-of-the-way corner, and when found loaded with fruit was a sur- 
prise indeed. 

It has been grown with the best the world affords, both native and 



108 THE KANSAS APRICOT. 

foreign. Compared with Early Golden, Moorpark, Alexander, Gibb, 
Budd, and others, it is larger, more hardy, more productive ; a spread- 
ing tree ; has fruited every year since 1890, and is now about sixteen 
years old. 

The fruit is the largest size, except Acme or Shense, which never 
bore but a few samples. It is beautifully colored ; the flesh is yellow, 
and when broken open is like sparkling crystals and the quality is 
unsurpassed •, it is truly superb. 

The trees in nursery row are quite distinct from other varieties — 
strong, well branched, and are one foot taller than other kinds at one 
year old. Stark Brothers thus speak of it: "Superb is a seedling 
from Lawrence, Kan., where we saw it two years in full fruit ; has 
produced more fruit, of larger size, and better, most superb quality, 
than any other, native or foreign. It is a better and more constant 
bearer than any hundred others. Exhibited at the Western nursery- 
men's convention, where its exquisite quality, in comparison with 
several others, was conceded by all. Superb raises the average in 
quality and size of this excellent fruit ; is worthy of extensive culti- 
vation. Some Eastern firms would make money out of it." 

Storrs & Harrison quote it as "A hardy seedling from Kansas. 
The best flavored, most productive, hardy apricot yet produced. 
Quality exquisite, medium size, light salmon color." 

It was awarded a first-class certificate by that conservative body, 
the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, at Boston, in 1897. 

It is a home production of which we can justly be proud, for it 
has had nothing but praise from all parts of the country where it has 
been tried. Every one can enjoy the delicious fruit of the apricot if 
he will take pains to ward off the attack of the curculio. 



THE "SUPERB" APRICOT.* 

From the Horticultural Visitor. 

This is a Russian seedling, growing and fruiting among hundreds 
of others — ^the best the world affords, either native or foreign. Com- 
pared with E. Golden, Moorpark, Alexander, Gibb, Budd, and others, 
it is larger, more hardy and spreading tree, more productive ; has 
fruited every year since 1890. The tree is about twelve years old. 
The fruit is the largest size, except Acme or Shense, which never had 
more than a few samples. It is beautifully colored ; the flesh is yel- 
low ; when broken open it is like sparkling crystals, and the quality 

* See plate on page 94. 



THE KANSAS APRICOT. 109 

is unsurpassed; it is truly superb. The trees in nursery row are 
strong, well branched, and are one foot taller than other kinds. 

Others speak of it in high terms, as follows : 

"Superb is a hardy seedling from Lawrence, Kan., where we saw 
it two years in full fruit ; has produced more fruit, of larger size, and 
better — most superb quality — than any other, native or foreign. It 
is a better and more constant bearer than any hundred others. Ex- 
hibited at the Western nurserymen's convention, where its exquisite 
quality, in comparison with several others, was conceded by all. Su- 
perb raises the average in quality and size of this excellent fruit ; is 
worthy of extensive cultivation." 

The Superb was introduced a few years since by a well-known 
Kansas nurseryman who has not pushed it out into the public view 
as it should have been, for it certainly is a splendid fruit, a heavy 
bearer, and an apricot that can be grown to perfection. The price is 
nominal for such a new anil .splendid fruit. The gentleman who origi- 
nated the Kansas raspberry, A. H. Griesa, Lawrence, Kan., also did 
the Superb apricot. Knowing it to be a good thing we have been 
growing a few, and now have some to sell. They bear young. Try a 
few. 



IRRIGATED FRUIT IN CURING. 

In a paper read before the Southern California Pomological So- 
ciety, at Riverside, J. H. Reed, speaking on irrigation matters, said (in 
part): It is claimed that there is a larger percentage of shrinkage in 
drying irrigated fruit, and I must confess this was my own supposition 
till my experience convinced me otherwise. You perhaps will pardon 
reference to this experience, as it seems to the point. Our first apricot 
orchard was interplanted among young lemons. The lemons were to 
make the permanent orchard, and all treatment was especially with 
reference to them. We had plenty of water and applied it generously 
throughout the year, except when winter rains made it unnecessary. 
The season after the 'cots had been jjlanted two years we took from 
twenty-five to seventy-five pounds of extra fine fruit per tree. The 
next season, third year, they returned from 100 to 300 pounds per tree. 
The present year, the fourth, they promise double these amounts. So 
much for quantity. 

The first season we kept careful account of results in drying, as we 
were drying for other parties apricots grown without irrigation. Very 
much to my surprise, we found that of the unirrigated it had taken 
5.6 pounds of green fruit to make one of dried, while of our irri- 
gated apricots it had taken but 4.9. A little thought should have 



110 THE KANSAS APRICOT. 

relieved us of our surprise. The water taken np by the roots does not 
pass direct to the fruit, but goes to the leaves, where its food contents 
are fitted for the fruit and wood growth and the surplus of water goes 
into the air. 

In the rapid growth of the young tree and early fruitage irriga- 
tion is an important advantage. Our irrigated trees had produced 
more fruit at three and one-half years from planting than trees in the 
neighborhood without irrigation had in twice the time. 



APRICOT FITTER AND SPREADER. 

Machinery is being gradually introduced into all the varied opera- 
tions in canning and curing fruits. It is first, perhaps, a factor of 
economical handling, but only second to this is the cleanliness which 
it implies. Among the latest contributions in this direction is an ap- 
ricot-pitting machine worked out by S. W. Guiberson, of Fillmore, 
Ventura county. Mr. Guiberson has been experimenting on the ma- 
chine for three years and has built two which were not entirely satis- 
factory in results. A third has been completed, too late for the crop 
of 1898, though it was given a trial, which demonstrated that it was 
a much greater success than anything hitherto designed for the pur- 
pose. The gentleman mentioned, in a letter to the editor of Califor- 
nia Fruit Grower, says: "My pitting and spreading machine is, I 
think, a success. I did not get it completed in time for this year's 
apricot croj), except to give it a trial at the end of the season. It took 
out ninety-five per cent, of the pits and spread the apricots correctly 
on the trays. It cuts a sufficient number of apricots to cover a tray 
full at one stroke and spreads them right side up on the tray in one 
minute, the tray being 8x3 feet in size. To cut them the proj^er way 
for drying they have to be placed in the machine by hand, and this 
requires three hands and three minutes' time per tray. I claim that 
three men can cut and load on cars for sulphuring about 150 boxes of 
apricots a day of twelve hours, and the machine does the work as 
neatly as by hand pitters." 



APRICOT PITS. 



The cream of tartar works at Napa has contracted for 400 or 500 
tons of ajjricot pits, which are being crushed in that city and the 
kernels extracted and dried. Thus prepared, they are shipped to a 
San Francisco firm and made to yield up their contents of oil, known 
to the trade and to chemists as almond oil. 



THE KANSAS APRICOT. Ill 



BROWN APRICOT SCALE. 



At a recent meeting of the horticultural society of Sonoma county, 
California, a member called attention to the fact that shippers and 
commission men had decided not to handle any more infested fresh 
fruit, and referred to the necessity for spraying and discouraging par- 
asites. Speaking of the brown apricot scale, he said very emphatic- 
ally that it could easily have been checked when first noticed here 
five years ago, but now it would take a great deal of united and well- 
sustained work to prevent it from becoming a greater nuisance. 
Another member mentioned the difficulty of getting men to spray even 
when the farmers' homes contained papers and horticultural reports 
that gave the formulas of the best sprays and full directions for their 
use. The average fruit-grower, said the gentleman, was too lazy or 
indifferent to perform the manual labor necessary to rid his orchard 
of the jjests that not only cut down his chance for a jjrofit, but his 
neighbors' as well. 



AUSTRALIAN APRICOTS. 

Large crops of apricots have been gathered by orchardists this 
season in this district, says the Northern Argus, Australia. The 
sample has been a uniformly good one, and markets have been easily 
obtained. Amongst the largest and best of the sort we have seen is 
a fine sample grown by Mr. C. H. Beaumont, of Penwortham. The 
fruit is of unusually large size, as will be seen from the fact that 
some of the apricots weighed five ounces and measured eight inches 
around. Any nine weighed two pounds, while fifty apricots taken 
from one case weighed twelve pounds. Mr. Beaumont has 106 trees 
six years old. from which was picked nearly 7000 pounds of fruit. 



SOME KANSAS EXPERIENCE. 

The following individual reports from Kansas fruit-growers con- 
vey lots of good ideas on apricot culture : 

Ebert Simon, Welda, Anderson county. — I have one apricot tree in bear- 
ing, which is prolific evei-y other year; the frost does not catch it in the spring; 
the fruit is in demand at home for canning and preserving. 

C. A. Blackutore, Sharon, Barber county. — Moorpark did the best with 
me last season ; it bore a full crop of very large fruit. Early Golden and Common 
apricot bore some. Alexis, Alexander, J. L. Budd, Shensi and Superb are too 
young to bear with me. In planting the foregoing trees I set them in red soil, 



112 THE KANSAS APRICOT. 

two to four inches deeper than they grew in the nursery. In sandy soil I set 
from four to eight inches deeper than they grew in the nursery. I always cut 
the trees back when setting, and use a good rammer; it is easier and better than 
tramping with your feet; if the soil is dry pour two or three gallons of water in 
the hole when half filled with earth, and when the water has settled away fill up 
and tramp slightly. I do not plant trees of one variety in blocks; I plant a row 
of one kind, and then a row of a different kind, and so on, being careful to plant 
sorts that bloom at the same date. I submit the following as a partial guide, 
according to my observations: Early Golden and Moorpark, first bloom appears 
April 11; in full bloom April 15; have fallen by May 22. 

J. K. Duiikin, Sharon, Barber county. — The apricot is one of the most 
loved of fruits that is grown in the orchards and is relished either off of the tree, 
raw, or served on the table; take them dried or canned, and they are sought 
after, but are tricky, being so often killed in the bloom, or even after the fruit is 
set. The tree does n't seem hardy enough to be profitable, and is easy to kill above 
the ground and below the forks. I have lost over fifty per cent, of my trees that 
way; the bark, or inner bark or sap-wood, dies from the limbs to the ground, 
while the tree holds its foliage green for some time, but the sap-wood is dead, 
black and rotten to the ground. They usually sprout up again, but are of little 
value. I have almost become discouraged with them and about discarded them. 
The fruit finds a ready sale, as a rule, at a good price, but I can't say I favor 
planting them for profit. The varieties generally grown here are Alexis, Alex- 
ander, Budd, Moor Park, and Early Golden. There will be a good crop this 
year, but there are too many failures to recommend planting more than a few 
trees for variety. 

A. S. Huff, Enon, Barber county. — Apricots are shy bearers in this valley. 
I had good crops for nine years. It is a fine, rich fruit, and commands an extra 
good price; we cannot raise enough, I know of no other fruit that is as ready 
sale as the apricot. It seems that there are more people that will buy the fruit 
than any other kind that grows. 

E. T. Daniels, Kiowa, Barber county. — I have one Moorpark apricot tree 
which bears about every other year and it is never troubled with insects ; I would 
advise new beginners to plant this variety; would plant it for both home and 
market. 

W. G. Osboi'iie, Medicine Lodge, Barber county. — I have eleven large, pro- 
lific apricot trees, the fruit of which is not sweet; they are in scattered plantings; 
they get frosted half the time ; we use the fruit in the family ; it is in demand, 
and I think pays. No insect troubles them. I would advise a new beginner to 
set out an orchard of them and cultivate well. 

George T. Elliott, Great Bend, Barton county. — I have fifteen large, sweet, 
bearing apricot trees; they are prolific in favorable seasons; they are Ealry Golden 
and Russian varieties. They are planted in a row in my orchard ; they often get 
frosted in the spring. Sell the fruit to my neighbors; it is in demand, but does 
not pay. Insects do not trouble them much. Would advise a new beginner to 
plant only for family use, as they get frosted so often. April 10, 1900, our trees 
were in full bloom, when we had a snow-storm, and we will have no fruit this 
season. 



THE KANSAS APRICOT. 113 

George Ettridge, Roberts, Barton county. — I have but five apricot trees. 
The Russian stand sixteen feet apart each way; set them out and trim the same 
as other trees. The tree is hardy; makes a fast growth ; is lovely when in full 
leaf. They are five years old and about ten feet high, with spreading limbs; 
never get any fruit off them, they bloom so early in the spring the frost always 
catches them. If the ground freezes hard next winter, I am going to mulch 
heavily with old hay or straw when it is frozen up and see if that will hold them 
back in the spring. It used to be practiced in Illinois on apple trees and it was 
claimed to have held the bloom back two weeks. That is, the mulched trees 
bloomed two weeks later than those not mulched. 

F. S. C Garrison, El Dorado, Butler county. — I have seven large Moor- 
park apricot trees in bearing, but they are not prolific. They are planted in an 
orchard. They often get frosted in the spring. Sell the fruit in El Dorado, but 
it is not in demand. It does not pay. They are troubled by the curculio, for 
which I spray. Would not advise a new beginner to grow apricots. 

A.. D. Arnold, Longford, Clay county. — I have twelve large, sweet Russian 
apricot trees now in bearing: they are not prolific. They are planted in an 
orchard; often get frosted. The fruit is in demand, but does not pay; I have 
none to speak of. Are troubled with the curculio; we do nothing for them. I 
would advise against them. 

Mr.s. E. O. Beaver.s, Ottumwa, Coffey county. — Have twelve large Russian 
apricot trees, just coining into bearing, planted in a cluster; they nearly always 
get frosted in the spring. Will use the fruit at home. It is in demand, and I 
think it would pay if we could grow them. Insects do not trouble them. 

eJanies Oiiiilap, Detroit, Dickinson county. — I have about twenty-five 
Russian seedling apricots now in bearing; some are large: they are very prolific 
and have borne nearly full crops five times in seven years; some of them are quite 
sweet. I grow them in an orchard about twenty feet apart; they have been 
frosted only once before this spring. I sell and can the fruit; it is in demand at 
one dollar per bushel ; they have paid me well ; others are not successful ; the 
fruit is troubled with a worm similar to curculio of plum or peach; have done 
nothing to prevent them. To a new beginner I would advise planting about as 
many trees as I have, as they are profitable, but would not advise planting a 
large orchard. My advice is to plant a few, by all means. 

J. P. Emery, Cimarron, Gray county. — I have twenty Alexander apricot 
trees; been planted five years; are large enough to bear; have blossomed two 
years; but were killed by the late freeze; they are planted in an orchard; the 
fruit is in demand. I would advise the planting of apricots. 

John Bailey, Harper, Harper county.-- Have about three apricot trees 
now in bearing: the rest were killed during the cold winter of 1898 and 1899; do 
not remember the names of the varieties I am growing. Some of them are large ; 
part of the trees are ten inches in diameter. They are prolific when they do well : 
some of them are sweet. I plant them in rows. They often get frosted in the 
spring; I sell the fruit in Harper. It is in demand, but it does not pay. Spray 
for the insects. I would advise a new beginner to get some late variety that is 
hardy and will not winter-kill. 



114 THE KANSAS APRICOT. 

C A. Seaniai), Sedgwick, Harvey county. — I have no apricot trees, but the 
fruit is in demand; they are freer from insects than most fruits. Most all kinds 
do well here. 

F. L. Osborne, Soldier, Jackson county. — I have seventy-five large, sweet, 
prolific apricot trees in bearing, all named varieties; have them planted in or- 
chard; they do not get frosted in the spring. We find a ready sale for the fruit, 
as it is in demand, but it does not pay. It is troubled with the codling-moth [?], 
for which we spray with Paris green. I would advise against the planting of it, 

»r. W. Williaiiis, Holton, Jackson county.— |I have one unnamed apricot 
tree bearing. It is not large nor prolific. Do not know whether it is sweet or 
not. They nearly always get frosted. The fruit is in demand, but I have had 
none to sell. They are troubled with the curculio. We do nothing for them. 
Some have had good success when planted in orchard. 

J. C Beokley, Spring Hill, Johnson county. — Have three Russian and 
Golden apricot trees not yet in bearing. Older ones were killed by freeze in 1898 
and 1899. They were prolific. Seldom get frosted in the spring. Sell what 
fruit we can't use at home; it is in demand, and would pay were it not for the 
insects. The curculio troubles the fruit, for which we do nothing. I would ad- 
vise a new beginner to plant the Russian and Golden varieties, and go slow. 

C. H. Ijonj»".stretli, Lakin, Kearny county. — Have 250 Russian apricot 
trees of bearing age but will not fruit this season ; the fruit is all large when the 
trees do not overbear: all are prolific when the season is favorable, but a full crop 
cannot be depended on oftener than one year in five. My trees are planted in an 
orchard. They often get frosted in the spring. Sell the fruit at home as a rule. 
The fruit is in demand but it does not pay. It is troubled with no insects. 
Would advise new beginners to plant it only as a shade or ornamental tree, they 
are useless as a fruit-tree, but very good for shade. 

]N. Saiiforrt, Oswego, Labette county. — I have grown apricots but have 
none in bearing: they are not profitable. My trees were planted scattering, and 
not in an orchard; they get frosted often, and there is no demand for the fruit; it 
does not pay: would advise against planting the apricot. 

D. E. Bradstreet, Dighton, Lane county. — I have a few fairly large apri- 
cot trees, planted scattering. The buds often get frosted in the spring; the fruit 
is not much in demand, and we use it at home; it does not pay. No insects 
trouble them. Would not advise a new beginner to plant apricots. 

D. C. Overly, Hartford, Lyon county. — Has 400 apricot trees of Superb 
[a Kansas variety, see p. 94] and Sunrise varieties. He says the whole secret 
of growing apricots is in cultivation and spraying. He says: "I can raise as fine 
apricots as California and receive as good prices." " I gather and pack in half- 
peck baskets, six dozen in each basket, with tissue paper between the layers. 
They retail at ten cents per.dozen, netting me six dollars per bushel ; the demand 
is great and cannot yet be satisfied." "Plant only Sunrise and Superb, I would 
not advise the Russian." "If you do not spray well, you will fail." He plants 
15x20 feet. What more is desired to urge the growth of this choice fruit. 



THE KANSAS APRICOT. 115 

James McNicool, Lost Springs, Marion county. — I have 200 apricot trees 
now in bearing, they are large and prolific, but are not sweet. Am growing them 
in an orchard; they get frosted about half the time: I sell the fruit and seed; it 
is in demand, but is not a favorite; it pays. The curculio trouble them, but I 
do nothing for them. 

O. "W. Heoketlioriie, McPherson, McPherson county. — I have ten Rus- 
sian apricot trees in bearing; they were killed in bloom by frost this spring; some 
are large and sweet, but they are not prolific. They are in scattered plantings. 
They are in demand, but we use ours at home ; they do not pay. Worms trouble 
them, but we do nothing for them. 

.T. T. Barnes, Beloit, Mitchell county. — I have twenty-eight apricot trees; 
twelve of them are in bearing; they are J. L. Budd, Catherine, and an Ameri- 
can variety, name not known; they are all named varieties excepting two trees. 
The American and Russian are large and are quite prolific when they set a crop ; 
the Catharine and American are sweet. Have some planted in a row and the 
balance scattered in the orchard. They get frosted sometimes; were killed this 
spring by the freeze in April. The fruit is in demand, and pays when we have a 
crop: we can and use ours on the table. Are not much troubled with insects. I 
would advise a new beginner to plant the J, L. Budd, Alexis, Alexander, and 
Catherine in rows twenty feet apart each way. 

W. B. Stockard, Beloit, Mitchell county. — I have eight large, sweet, pro- 
lific apricot trees now in bearing, in scattered planting; the frost does not catch 
them in the spring; the fruit is in demand; I think it pays. They are troubled 
with the curculio,' but we do nothing for them. Apricots are just as hardy as 
peaches; the only difference is in the early blooming; had them bearing when 
peach was killed. There is no finer fruit for canning, drying, and eating out of 
the hand. I believe if they were budded on Mariana jjlum they would be hardier 
than any peach.'' 

Joliii K. Sample, Beman, Morris county. — I have about twenty large, pro- 
lific apricot trees now in bearing; the grafted ones are sweet; they are in scat- 
tered planting. Often get frosted in the spring; use the fruit at home, but it is 
in demand, and it pays. Curculio troubles them, for which we use slaked lime 
in the morning while the dew is on the trees, by throwing it into the air. I 
would advise a new beginner to plant pits by the thousand. Would not advise 
against planting apricots. [Who else has tried air-slaked lime as a dust spray 
for curculio ? Sec] 

James Sharp, Parkerville, Morris county. — I have about 100 apricot trees 
now in bearing; they are all named varieties excepting one which is very large; 
have one large one which was grown from California seed; it ripens the Ith of 
July; is a perfect freestone. They are very prolific and sweet. Have grown 
them in orchard and scattered; they do not often get frosted. Sell them in Her- 
ington; they are in demand, especially the large one, and I am planting it 
largely; they pay. They are troubled with curculio, but I do nothing for them. 
I would advise a new beginner to plant large varieties, the same as peach trees. 

V.E. Hatliavvay, Council Grove, Morris county. — I have five or six medium- 
sized bearing apricot trees. They are Moorpark or the so-called Russian varie- 



116 THE KANSAS APRICOT. 

ties. They are sweet and ordinarily prolific in a scattered planting : they often 
get frosted in the spring. The fruit is in demand but we eat some and can the 
balance while fresh. It does not pay; the curculio troubles them, for which we 
do nothing. I would advise a new beginner to try a few apricots. 

H. L. Ferris, Osage City, Osage county. — I have ten large, sweet, prolific 
apricot trees in bearing ; they are named varieties ; planted together ; they do 
not get frosted in the spring. Sell the fruit in Osage City ; it is in demand, and 
it paid until a year ago, when it was killed by the cold winter. They are troubled 
with curculio, for which I do nothing. I would advise a new beginner to plant 
mostly Moorpark, fifteen feet apart. I am planting again ; sold all I could raise 
at thirty-five cents per peck. 

C D. Martiiidale, Scranton, Osage county. ~I have five apricot trees now 
in bearing; they are eighteen to twenty feet tall; the varieties are Russian and 
Early Golden; no sweet ones; they were prolific when young; are in scattered 
plantings ; have been frosted two or three times. We use the fruit at home, and 
sell the surplus; it is in demand, but does not pay. I would advise a new be- 
ginner to plant Early Golden, Robinson, and Moorpark, but would not advise 
any one to plant on a large scale, as the trees do not do well after eight or nine 
years. 

Howard Morton, Tescott, Ottawa county. — I had eight Russian apricot 
trees, but they are all dead now; they were large, but never bore a full crop. I 
grew them in orchard rows ; they often got frosted in the spring. They were 
troubled with the curculio; sprayed for them, bvit it was not well done. Would 
not advise the planting of apricots. 

F. T. M. Diitcher, Phillipsburg, Phillips county.— I have about nine ap- 
ricot trees now in bearing. They are about six inches in diameter and not very 
prolific ; none of them are sweet. Grow them in rows ; often get frosted in the 
spring. Use the fruit in the family ; it would be in demand if we had any to sell ; 
does not pay. Have never been troubled with insects: I spray. Would advise 
against them. 

John Hinds, Olcott, Reno county. — I have a few apricot trees, but they 
do n't do well here, as the frost gets them at blooming time. 

H. C. Hodgvson, Little River, Rice county. — I have fifteen apricot trees now 
in bearing. They are the Russian and not named, not prolific nor sweet; have 
them among apple trees. They often get frosted in the spring. Use the fruit in 
the family. They are troubled with the codling-moth, for which I have sprayed. 
I would advise against planting them. 

D. M. Adams, Rome, Sumner county. — I have two sweet, prolific apricot 
trees in bearing ; they are ten feet high : but they are not sweet. The fruit is in 
demand, but we use it at home. They often get frosted in the spring; they do 
not pay in a commercial way; no insects trouble them. 

M. E. Wells, Smith Center, Smith county. — I have six bearing apricot trees. 
The apricots are the size of a small peach and about as sweet, and are prolific in 
favorable seasons. They are planted scatteringly and get frosted about half the 



THE KANSAS APRICOT. 117 

time. The fruit is in demand and I think it pays; they are troubled with no 
insects. The apricot is as sure a crop here as the peach: would set them twenty 
feet apart. 

C. H. Taylor, Eskridge, Wabaunsee county. — I have twenty-five sweet, 
prolific, medium-sized apricot trees now in bearing: they are planted scatter- 
ingly : seldom get frosted in the spring. Use all the fruit we can and sell the 
balance in the local market: it is in demand, and pays. The same insects trouble 
it that trouble the. peach : I destroy the windfalls and spray to prevent them. I 
would advise a new beginner to plant 10x20 feet apart and cultivate thoroughly, 
separate from peach. 

Alexander Spier.s, Linn, Washington county. — I have five unnamed apri- 
cot trees in scattered planting; they often get frosted in the spring. The fruit is 
not in demand : it does not pay. They are troubled with no insect. 



APRICOTS FOR THE TABLE. 

We append here a few good recipes for preparing apricots for table 
use : 

Canned Apricots. — One pound of sugar, four pounds of apricots, one quart 
of water. Take fine ripe apricots, pare, core, and throw them into cold water. 
When you have sufficient to fill one or two jars, lift them carefully from the 
water, weigh, and put them in a porcelain-lined kettle; cover with boiling water, 
bring quickly to the boiling-point, and then stand them over a moderate fire, 
where they will scarcely bubble, until tender. While they are cooking, put the 
sugar and water into another kettle, stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar is 
thoroughly dissolved, then with a skimmer lift the apricots from the water, drain 
a moment, then slide carefully into the boiling syrup; continue until the bottom 
of the kettle is covered : boil until the apricots are sufficiently tender to admit a 
straw, then lift them carefully one at a time into the jar, and seal. (Mrs. Rorer, 
in "Canning and Preserving.") 

Preserved Apricots.— Pare, cut into halves, and remove the stone. 
Weigh, and to each pound of apricots allow allow one pound of sugar and half a 
dozen apricot kernels. Put a layer of the apricots in a bowl or jar, then a layer 
of sugar, then a layer of apricots, then a layer of sugar, and so on until all is 
used. Cover and stand aside over night, add the kernels, and bring quickly to a 
boil ; then simmer until the apricots are tender and clear. Lift carefully, one at 
a time, and put in glass jars or tumblers. Stand, aside to cool, pour over the 
syrup, and tie up. Nectarines may be preserved in the same way. (Mrs. Rorer, 
in " Canning and Preserving." ) 

Apricot Marmalade. — Rub the apricots, to remove the fuzz, but do not 
pare them. Cut in halves, remove the stone, and to every pound of apricots allow 
a half-pound of sugar. Put the apricots in a porcelain-lined kettle, add sufficient 
water to cover the bottom ; cover, and heat slowly to boiling-point; then stir, and 
mash until fine ; add the sugar and three or four kernels, blanched and pounded 
to a paste, to every quart of marmalade. Boil and stir continually for fifteen 
minutes, then stand over a moderate fire, and cook slowly twenty minutes longer. 



118 THE KANSAS APRICOT. 

Stir occasionally, that it may not scorch. Put away in stone jars. Plum mar- 
malade may be made in the same way. (Mrs. Rorer, in "Canning and Preserv- 
ing.") 

Compote of Greeu Apricots. — Wipe the down from a pound of quite 
young apricots, and stew them very gently for nearly twenty minutes in a syrup 
made with eight ounces of sugar and three-fourths of a pound of water, boiling 
together the usual time. (Mrs. Hale.) 

Drying" Apricots. — Allow the fruit to be as well ripened as possible without 
being mushy. Cut the fruit clean in halves, not half cut and half break. Get 
the trays in the sulphur box as soon as possible after spreading, or spray or 
sprinkle them a little before putting in. Expose to sulphur fumes an hour or 
more, the object being to keep the cured fruit the same color as the natural, 
fresh-cut fruit. Apricots blacken in drying unless sulphured. When nearly dry 
the trays may be stacked and the curing continued in the shade. There are fruit 
graders which grade the cured fruit very accurately, except that slabs and dis- 
colored pieces must be thrown out by hand. 

Apricots make good pies. 

Dried apricots are good simply stewed and sweetened. 



NECTARINES. 



We have been able to find but few nectarine growers in Kansas, 
and the few quoted do not speak very encouragingly of its value. 
Personally we believe it susceptible of profitable culture to add to the 
variety of home fruits. Possibly some of our horticulturists will take 
it in hand and produce varieties suited to our state. It ought to be 
as good as the i:)eacli, and freedom from fuzz, velvet or down must 
surely be a pleasing and valuable characteristic. If it is simply a 
"ijeach with a smooth skin," then why is it not as worthy as a " peach 
with a fuzzy skin " ? 

Downing mentions thirty-one distinct varieties. 



DEFINITIONS. 



Century Dictlonai'i/ : Sw^eet or delicious as nectar. A variety of 
the common peach, from which its fruit differs only in having a rind 
devoid of down and a firmer pulp. Both fruits are sometimes found 
growing on the same tree. 

Standard Dictionary : A smooth-skinned variety of peach. Span- 
ish nectarine, the plum-like fruit of the West Indian tree, Chryso- 
halanus icaco ; also called cocoa plum. It is made into a sweet 
conserve which is largely exported from Cuba. 



THE NECTARINE. 

From Dowuing's "Fruit and Fruit-trees of America." 

The nectarine {Persiea vulgaris) is only a variety of the peach 
with a smooth skin {Peclie lisse, or Brugnon, of the French) in its 
growth, habit, and tree. The fruit, however, is rather smaller, per- 
fectly smooth, without down, and is one of the most wax-like and ex- 
quisite of all productions for the dessert. In flavor it is perhaps 
scarcely so rich as the finest peach, but it has more piquancy, par- 
taking of the noyau or peach-leaf flavor. The nectarine is known in 
northern India, where it is called moondla aroo (smooth peach.) It 

(119) 



120 THE KANSAS NECTARINE. 

appears to be only a distinct, accidental variety of the peach, and this 
rendered quite certain since there are several well-known examples on 
record of both peaches and nectarines having been produced on the 
same branch — thus showing a disposition to return to the natural 
form. Nectarines, however, usually produce nectarines again on sow- 
ing the seeds ; but they also occasionally produce peaches. The 
Boston nectarine originated from a peach-stone. The nectarine ap- 
pears a little more shy of bearing in this country than the peach, but 
this arises almost always from the destruction of the crop of fruit by 
the curculio, the destroyer of all smooth-skinned stone fruit in sandy 
soil. It is quite hardy here wherever the peach will thrive, though it 
will not generally bear large and fine fruit unless the branches are 
shortened in annually. With this easy system of pruning, good crops 
are readily obtained wherever the curculio is not very prevalent. The 
culture of the nectarine is in all respects precisely similar to that of 
the peach, and its habits are also completely the same. 

Thomas's "American Fruit Culturist" says: "The nectarine being 
nothing more than the peach with a glossy skin, the same rules for 
cultivation will apply equally to both, with the exception that, as its 
smooth surface renders it eminently liable to the attack of the cur- 
culio, special attention must be given to the destruction of this insect. 
The nectarine is usually inferior, and has more of the noyau flavor 
than the peach, and the shoots are of smoother and more comf)act 
growth." Then follow descriptions of freestones, pale flesh, six va- 
rieties ; freestones, deep yellow flesh, three varieties ; clingstones, pale 
flesh, two varieties ; clingstones, yellow flesh, one variety. 

James Alexander Fulton, who wrote a standard work on "The 
Peach," says: "There is abundant evidence that the nectarine is a 
mere accidental production of the peach. The general characteristics 
are identical, while the difference is but slight, and consists princi- 
pally in the presence or absence of the pubescence on the skin. The 
nectarine, both in tree and fruit, is not so vigorous, hardy or durable 
as the peach ; it is more easily affected by disease and the attacks of in- 
sects ; sheds its fruit more easily, and oftener fails to produce a crop." 



WHITE NECTARINES. 

Regaring the nectarine, a fruit that is not near so highly appreciated 
in this country as it is in Europe, the Hanford (Cal.) Sentinel, two 
or three weeks ago, said: After a successful run of about two solid 
weeks' picking, cutting and drying white nectarines, A. W. Lane, 
whose ranch is near Grangeville, reports that he has cleaned up and 
sold his crop, and that the same has netted him $150 an acre. 



THE KANSAS NECTARINE, 121 

Mr. Lane is one of the most intelligent of our orcliardists, and runs 
his place on practical plans. He is perhaps the largest grower of white 
nectarines in the valley. He states that the nectarine is a more sure 
bearer than the peach, apricot, or prune, and is more profitable from 
the fact that the nectarine resists the early frost better, requires less 
pruning, and holds a larger weight of fruit without breaking down. 

The cost of j)utting the cured white nectarine in the market is about 
thirty-five dollars per ton, or about the same per ton as apricots : and 
nectarines dry away about five to one, or a little less than some peaches. 



SOME KANSAS EXPERIENCES. 

C. A. Blackinore, Sharon, Barber county. — Nectarines seem to be too 
tender in fruit-bud to escape the [spring] frost, although they bear some every 
year. 

»T. K. Duukiii, Sharon, Barber county. — The nectarine has n't been planted 
to any great extent here yet — only a few trees here and there; they seem to do 
well in this vicinity. Some think they are not profitable ; others think they are. 
Can't say what their future popularity may be, but think they should be more 
extensively planted. I favor giving all kinds of fruit a fair and impartial trial, to 
test their qualities, and give them our favor. 

S. F. C. Garrison, El Dorado, Butler county. — I had a few nectarine trees, 
but they are now all dead; they were not prolific: they got frosted often in the 
spring. We did not use the fruit; there was no demand for it. The curculio 
troubled them. Would not advise a beginner to try nectarines in this locality. 

John Bailey, Harper, Harper county. — Have grown nectarine trees in scat- 
tered plantings, but have none now in bearing ; all are dead. Would not advise 
any one to plant them. 

.T.CBeckley, Spring Hill, Johnson county. — Have one nectarine tree, which 
is not very prolific; they get frosted about as often as peaches do. Use the fruit 
at home: have never sold any; don't think it would pay. They are troubled 
with the curculio, but we do nothing for it. 

C. H. Loiig'streth, Lakin, Kearny county. — I have three nectarine trees, 
not bearing; they are named varieties; they often get frosted in the spring. Do 
nothing with the fruit ; it is troubled with no insects. Would advise new begin- 
ners to let the nectarine alone. 

James McNicoI, LostSprings, Marion county. — Has grown nectarines on the 
game principle as peaches, but thinks the peach far preferable, as it is not so lia- 
ble to be stung by the curculio. 

James Sharp, Parkerville, Morris county. — Has three nectarine trees now 
in bearing ; they are not very large ; he does not know the names of them ; they 
are about as prolific as the peach. Do not get frosted in the spring ; uses the 
fruit at home ; does not pay. They are troubled with the curculio ; he does noth- 
ing for them. Would not advise any one to plant it. 



CHERRY INDEX. 



Area adapted to growth 10, 

Bearing early 24, 

Birds, ravages of 38, 44, 63, 

Blossoming, time of 

Buds swelling by fall heat 

winter-killed 

Budding 7, 14, 

California cherries 

Canning factory 13, 

home 5, 9, 10, 14, 

valuable for 43, 

Dyehouse 

mixed with strawberries 

Chico has good cherry orchards 

largest cherry tree 

'Climatic injuries 12, 17, 

drought 

'Clover under trees 24, 

seeding, to 

County reports : 

Barber 

Barton 

Bourbon 

Butler 

Chase 

Clay 

Cowley 

Decatur 

Franklin 

Harper 49, 

Jackson 

Jefferson 

Johnson 

Kearny 

Labette 

Lane 

Leavenworth 

Linn 

Lyon 

Mitchell 

Montgomery 

Morris 

Nemaha 

Osage 

Phillips 

Reno 54 , 

Smith 

Sumner 

Washington 55 , 

Wabaunsee 

Wyandotte 

Cultivation 8, 10, 18, 24, 29, 

34, 40, 43, 45, 

deep plowing 17, 

Cover crops 10, 19, 24, 29, 37, 



PAGE 

Crowded out by other fruits 27 

Definitions, Standard Dictionary 3 

Century Dictionary 3 

Diseases 12, 87 

black-knot 12, 28, 88 

preventive and remedy 89 

brown rot 12, 89 

burstingorcrackingof bark, 12, 13, 38, 39 

climatic injuries 12, 38 

foot-rot 28 

gum 6, 25 

leaf-blight 12, 39, 41, 87 

leaf-spot 83 

powdery mildew 12, 83 

remedies 83 

shot-hole 83 

remedies 83 

sun-scald 12 

unripe wood 13 

Exporting large quantities 13 

Elevation of orchard 14, 17, 27 

Fertilizing 8, 10, 17, 24, 40 

barn-yard litter 17 

wood ashes 17 

Frost, spring injury by 17 

Fruitfulness 14, 26, 39 

Fruit cracking 17, 25 

spurs 10 

large 14, 62 

diameter of 15 

Grafting dwarf trees 8 

plastic 71 

root 69 

scions 71 

side 70 

top 8, 14 

Growing in Northwest 24 

Hardiness compared witli other fruits 27 

Insects 82, 

aphis 4, 12, 87, 

remedy 12 , 

beetle, bark 

preventive 

beetle, June 

borer 82 

canker-worm 82 

curulio 12, 38, 41, 44, 82, 83, 85 

catcher 86 

jarring 86 

preventive 82 

remedy 84 

spray for 85 

cicada 89 

remedy 89 

fall web-worm 82 



87 



89 



(123; 



124 



INDEX. 



Insects: 

leaf-crumpler 82 

slug 84 

remedy 84 

saw-fly 84 

remedy 84 

tent-caterpillar 82 

Kansas, sure crop in 45 

little danger of raising too many in . .. 45 

Market for, best 31 

Medicinal qualities of 91 

Money in 64 

Mulching 17, 29, 77 

dust 34, 45 

Noble fruit 69 

Nurserymen, patronize reliable 37 

Nursery stock, one-year-old trees .. .14, 37, 40 

two-year-old trees 14, 17, 37, 40 

New York, western, sour cherries in 66 

sweet cherries 67 

Orchard 72 

experience 78 

for profit 76 

large 38, 81 

location 29, 40, 73 

San Jose 25 

Origin 5, 43 

Packages 10, 19, 37, 41, 79, 81 

ten-pound boxes 25, 26 

Packing 81 

diameter of fruit 15 

table 19 

honest 20 

Pasturing the orchard 10 

Personal contributions and clippings: 

Adams, D. M 55 

Arnold, A. D 48 

Bailey, L.H.... 9,13,21,39,61,67,73,76, 80 

Bailey, John 49 

Baldwin, S. J 16, 53 

Barnes, J. T 52 

Baxter, Mr 36 

Beckley , J. C 51 

Bessey , Chas. E 57 

Berryhill, J. G 20 

Bilsiug, J. H 48 

Blackmore, C. A 46 

Bradstreet, D. E 52 

Budd, Prof. J. L 20, 22, 23 

Butterfield, Mr 36 

Callaway, Mr 38 

Cecil, J. F 38 

Cellar, W. D 56 

Chambers, S. W 68 

Clark, Isaac 49 

Colman, Mr 23 

Cutter, H. S 50 

Daniels, E. T 46 

Dixon, F. W 50 

Dickens, Albert 45 

Diehl, E. P 51 

Downing, A. J 5, 41 

Dunkin, J. R 47 

Dutcher, F. T. M 54 



Personal contributions and clippings ; 

Ervine, J. M 36 

Elliott, Geo. T 47 

Ettridge, Geo 46 

Fleharty, W. M. 52 

Garrison, S. F. C 48 

Geiger, Mrs. W 25, 26 

Geiger, W, R 26 

Goodman, L. A 36 

Gray, E. M 50 

Griesa, A. C. & Bro 60 

Hansen, Prof. N. E 69 

Harris, H. T 58, 75 

Hathaway, V. E 53 

Hector, Robert ' 64 

Heikes, W. F 15 

Hildreth,Geo 51 

Hinds, John 55 

Hiokley, Mr 23 

Holsinger, Maj. F 36, 56 

Hopkins, G. W 35 

Huff, A. S 47 

Johnson, G. W 16 

.Johnson, J. W 41 

Kean, Mr 39 

Kirkpatrick, E. W. M 16 

Kirtland, Profes.sor 58 

Riser, J. J 30, 36 

Linton, S. H 27, 28 

Longstreth, C. H 51 

Loudon, Mr 6 

Martindale, CD 54 

May, Dick 48 

May, J. E 36 

Murray, N. F 16 

Myers, Dr. J 54 

N ichols & Lorton 16 

Osborn, F. L 50 

Osborn, W. G 46 

Overly, D. C 52 

Perkins, C. H 39, 79 

Powell, G. Harold 9 

Powell, Professor 74 

Reed, David 23 

Reed, John 48 

Ross, J. C 53 

Sample, John E 53 

Sanford, N 51 

Sauer, A. 23, 77 

Saxe, J. B 48 

Sayles, J. H 48 

Scoon, Mr 39 

Sinnock, J. P 37 

Skinner, W. H... 32 

Smith, B. F 43 

Spiers, Alexander 56 

Stay man. Dr. J 52 

Swigart, A.N 42 

Taylor, C. H 55 

Taylor, I. M 49 

Terry, H. A 21, 23 

Tunnell, Rev. R. M 77 

VanDeman, H. E 74 

W aggoner, P 49 



INDEX. 



125 



Personal contributions and clippings : 

Waugh, Prof. F. A 

Wells, M.E 

Wetmore, E. F 

White, D. D. 



61 

55 

26 

50 

Wickson, Edward J 13 

Woolverton, E. K 55 

Pickers 20, 45, 81 

pay 41, 79, 80 

Picking 8, 10, 13, 19, 26, 32, 37, 76, 81 

by stem 20 

ladders, convenient 19, 20 

losses in 32 

number of times over 41 

platform 19 

shanty or packing-room 19, 26 

ship in car lots 38 

sorting 10, 15 

Planting 17,29, 32 

age 10, 14, 17, 37, 40, 46, 78 

crop between rows 19, 29, 37, 40 

should not be done 24 

raspberries 40 

distance 8, 10, 18, 24, 29, 39 

40, 44, 46, 74, 78 

fall 37 

for car-lot shipments 36 

only in spring 32 

puddle roots 32 

where to 73 

Prices, wholesale 15 

high 25, 26, 64 

Profits 4, 10, 11, 26, 28, 39, 45, 79 

demand good 62 

planting for 20 

greater than in apple growing 38 

Propagation 7 

seed preparation of 7 

planting 7 

preserving over winter 7 

persistent 43 

seedlings, good 43 

to sprout 65 

without kernel 43 

vitality 7 

Protection 17, 29 

Pruning 8, 10, 19, 24, 27, 29, 32 

33, 37, 40, 42, 44 

time for 8 

low heads 14 

Rabbits and borers seldom bother 37 

Rheumatism, cherries good for 91 

Santa Clara valley 24 

Seedlings, good 43 

Shawnee county, in 



38 

Shipping 19, 25 

Slope of orchard ground 17, 29 

Sod in the orchard 10 

Soils, 7, 10, 14, 17, 24, 25, 26, m, 32, 40, 41, 45 

drainage.... 24, 26, 27, 29, 30, 43, 66, 77 

unsuitable..... 14, 28, 38, 43 

wet places 7 

■Spraying 41 

aphis 88 



Spraying: 

arsenate of lead 82 

arsenical solution 82 

carbolic acid 91 

cherry slug, for 84 

Bordeaux mixture 41 

curculio preventive 82 

remedy 83 

fish-oil soap 12 

kerosene emulsion 12 

London purple 82 

Paris green 82 

white arsenic 82 

Stocks : 

Mahaleb, 10, 14, 17, 22, 36, 37, 42, 54, 55, 78 

Marianna plum for 69 

Mazzard, 7, 10, 14, 17, 22, 36, 37, 69, 78 

Morello 8, 15, 17, 36 

raising 7 

Sure croppers 79 

Table delicacies, recipes: 

canning... 5, 9, 10, 14, 43, 44, 74, 76, 91 

charlotte 91 

compote 92 

compote of Morellos 92 

dried fruit 13, 68, 92 

after cooking 00 

jam 92 

jelly 92 

pickled 93 

pie 5, 93 

with sweet apples 31 

preserves 93 

spiced 93 

syrup 93 

Time of ripening 11 

Trees : 

age to plant 10, 14, 17, 37, 40, 46 

climatic injuries to 12, 38 

diseases of 12 

dwarfed 14 

growth , stalwart 14 

hang long on 37 

large 8, 28, 77 

none are long-lived 8, 24, 28 

ornamental 28 , 44 

profitable 80 

roadside 4, 6, 42 

marking 6 

second-class never cheap 17, 45 

Switzerland, old, in 30 

trunks protected 13 

Uses of fruit 5 

recipes 91 

Vacaville, Cal., district 13, 25 

very early 24 

first box, fancy price 24 , 25 

Value 30, 38, 39, 78 

Varieties and classes 30, 58, 75 

best for Kansas 11 

unnamed — some good 31, 46 

for local use 11, 61 

plant but few 41 

Amarelle 9, 11, 22, 23, 74 



126 



INDEX. 



Varieties and classes : 

Baldwin 15, 16, 52, 54 

Bastard 3 

Bay 3 

Belle de Choisy 16, 53, 59, 75 

Belle Magnifique 16, 60, 75 

Belle d'Orleans 25 

Bigarreau 3, 9, 11, 12, 14, 21 

27, 38, 43, 56, 77 

Bing 25 

Bird 3, 9, 63 

BlackEagle 44, 79 

Black Heart 3 

Black Republican 25 

Black Tartarian.. 3, 9, 11, 14, 25, 27, 44 

52, 53, 64, 65, 75, 76, 77, 79, 80 

popular eating variety 25 

keep long 25 

Bouquet Morello 23 

Bruesler Braun 23, 61 

Brussarbian 23, 61 

California cherry, paper on 24, 76 

Centennial 25 

Cerise d'Ostheim 22, 23 

Choke 3 

Cleveland Bigarreau 25 

Criotte du Nord 23 

Dikeman 12 

Double Natte 23 

Downer's Late Red 79 

Dukes 6, 9, 14, 20, 21, 28 

88, 42, 43, 56. 75 

Dwarf 3, 8, 9 

Dyehouse....21, 31, 42, 47, 48, 50, 52, 54 

56, 58, 61, 69, 74, 75, 77, 78 

Early Purple Guigne. 14, 25 

Early Riclimond....4, 5, 9, 11, 15, 16, 21 

22, 23, 27, 31, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 

42, 44, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53 

54, 55, 56, 61, 63, 69, 74, 75, 77, 78 

most popular variety in West 39 

hardiest 39 

Elton ..•■ 79 

Empress 52 

Empress Eugene 48, 49, 53 

Gean 34, 6 

Governor Wood 4, 9, 16, 25, 42, 44 

47, 50, 53, 58, 61 

Ground 3 

Guigne Marbre 14 

Hearts 11. 17, 38, 43, 44, 75 

Improved Dwarf Rocky Mountain 9 

Jerusalem 77 

Kentish 3, 5, 16 

King's Amarelle 23 

Knight's Early Black. 14, 25 

Late Duke 37, 39, 59, 75 

Late Richmond 21, 22, 50 

Laurel 3 



Varieties and classes: 

Lewelling li 

Louis Philippe.. 9, 11, 39, 44, 53,' 66. 75 

Lutovka 23 

Mahaleb 3, 10 

May Duke 3, 4, 9, 16, 27, 46, 47, 50 

51, 52, 53, 58, 59, 75 

Mazzard 3, 6, 7, 8, 9 

Mercer 52, 75 

Mezel 12 

Montmorency, 4, 9, 11, 15, 16, 22, 27, 31 

35, 36, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 44, 46 

47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 56, 61 

63, 66, 67, 69, 73, 75, 77, 78, 79 

Morello 3, 4, 6, 9, 11, 14, 15, 16, 21 

21, 22, 23, 27, 28, 31, 35, 37, 38 

39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 46, 47, 48 

49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 61 

63, 66, 67, 72, 73, 74, 75, 77, 78 

Napoleon 9, 11, 12, 14, 25 

44, 61, 75, 79, 80 

Olivet 42, 49, 52, 53, 60, 61, 75 

OrelSweet 21, 23 

Ostbeim.. 3, 11, 22, 27, 31, 39, 44, 48, 49 

50, 52, 53, 56, 61, 66, 69, 77 

Ostheimer Weichsel 23 

Oxheart 3, 4 

Perfumed 8 

Reine Hortense 9, 16, 60, 75 

Robert's Red Heart 12, 79 

Rockport Bigarreau 14 

Royal Ann 14, 25 

Royal Duke 16, 48 

Russian varieties 22, 23, 61, 73 

Sand, native 9, 57, 58 

Nebraska 57 

Schatten Amarelle 23, 61 

Scotch 53 

Sklanka 23 

Sour cherries 9,10, 61 

Spate Amarelle 23 

Sudie 27, 31 

Sula Hardy 50 

Sweet cherries 9, 28, 44, 61, 67, 80 

Terry 23 

Valdimir 48, 49 

Vilna Sweet 21 

Wild black 3 

Wild Virginia. 5 

Windsor 9, 12, 27, 44, 52, 65, 75, 79 

Wragg 22, 27, 31, 36, 50, 51, 52, 53 

54, 56, 60, 61, 69, 75, 77, 78 

Yellow Glass 21 

Yellow Spanish 25, 27, 51, 53, 79 

Watering 45 

Wind-breaks 17, 29 

Winter injury 24, 27 

Wood 6 

Yield 14, 26, 29, 39 



INDEX. 



127 



APRICOT INDEX. 



PAGB 

Almond oil from pits 110 

California, Edward J. Wickson 101 

California Fruit Grower 110 

Curculio 100 

catcher 100 

Definition, Century Dictionary 95 

Standard Dictionary 96 

Diagnosis, Edward J. Wickson 101 

Drying 104, 109 

Experiences in Kansas: 

Adams, D. M., Sumner county 116 

Arnold, L. D., Clay county 113 

Bailey, John, Harper county 113 

Barnes, J. T., Beloit, Mitchell county .. 115 

Beavers, Mrs. E. O., Coffey county 113 

Beckloy, J. C, Johnson county 114 

Blackmore, C. A., Barber county Ill 

Bradstreet, D. E., Lane county 114 

Daniels, E. T., Barber county 112 

Dunkin, J. R., Barber county 112 

Dunlap, James, Dickinson county 113 

Dutcher, F. T. M., Phillips county 116 

Elliott, George T., Barton county 112 

Emery, J. P., Gray county 113 

Ferris, H. L., Osage county 116 

Garrison, S. F. C, Butler county 113 

Hathaway, V. E., Marion county 114 

Heckethorn, O. W,, McPherson county, 115 

Hinds, John, Reno county 116 

Hodgson, H. C, Rice county 116 

Huff, A. S., Barber county 112 

Longstreth, C. H., Kearny county 114 

Martindalo, C. D., Osage county 116 

McNicol, James, Marion county 115 

Morton, Howard, Ottawa county 116 

Osborn, F. L., Jackson county 114 

Osborne, W. G., Barber county 112 

Overly, D. C, Lyon county 114 

Sample, John E., Morris county 115 

Sanford, N., Labette county 114 

Seaman, C. A., Harper county 114 

Sharp, James, Marion county 115 

Simon, Ebert, Anderson county Ill 

Stockard, W. B., Mitchell county 115 

Spiers, Alex. Washington county 117 

Taylor, C. H., Wabaunsee county 117 

Wells, M. E., Smith county 116 

Williams, J. W., Jackson county 114 

Grading 104 

Introduction, secretary 95 

Irrigated 109 

Massachusetts Horticultural Society 108 

Notes, by A. J. Downing 96 

J.J.Thomas 97 



PAGE 

Origin, Professor Bailey 98 

Pits, almond oil from 110 

Pitter and spreader 110 

Pruning lOO 

Scale, brown HI 

Spraying ; 100 

Stocks for 101 

Superb, A. H. Grie.sa 107, 109 

Horticultural Visitor lOS 

Table use — receipts 117 

canning in 

compote 117 

drying 118 

marmalade 117 

pies lis 

preserved 117 

stewed 118 

Varieties : 

Alexander 99, 105, 108 

Alexis 99, 105 

Australia , . HI 

Black 107 

Blenheim 106 

Breda 96, 106 

Budd, J. L 99, 105, 108 

Catherine 99 

Chinese 107 

Eureka 106 

Golden Early 95, 104, 105, 108 

Gibb 99, 108 

Harris 99, 105 

Hemskirk 106 

Home 95 

Japanese 99, 107 

Large Early 104 

Montgamet 99 

Moorpark 95, 99, 101, 105, 108 

Nicholas 99 

Orange 96 

Pringle 104 

Remer 95 

Royal 99, 104, 105 

Russian 98, 99, 107 

seedling 97 

Kansas 95 

St. Ambroise 99, 106 

Superb 95, 107, 108, 109 

Turkish 96, 99 

wild 96 

Why not more planted ? 106 

Yield 105 



128 



INDEX. 



NECTARINE INDEX. 



PAGE 

Cost of curing 121 

Definition, Century Dictionary 119 

Standard Dictionary 119 

Experiences in Kansas : 

Bailey, John, Harper county 121 

Beckley, J. C, Johnson county 121 

Blackmore, C. A., Barber county 121 

Dunkin, J. R., Barber county 121 

Garrison, S. F. C, Butler county 121 



Experiences in Kansas : page 

Longstreth, C. H., Kearny county 121 

McNicol, James, Marion county 121 

Sharp, James, Morris county 121 

Introductory, secretary 119 

Notes, by Downing 119 

Thomas 120 

J. A. Fulton 120 

White, from California 120 



JL 22 1901 



